A Continuing Threat
by halfdemonfan
Summary: When they destroyed the Espada and captured Aizen everyone though the threat was gone...they were wrong. Everyone must fight together once again for Karakura's saftey and Ichigo discovers just how important Orihime is to him.
1. Chapter 1

So this story has been rolling around my head for a few weeks and it is refusing to go away so I just have to write it. :)

My apologizes for not updating on my other story _Re-learning_ but I am also writing a new chapter for it as well. I ask for your patience.

I hope you enjoy the story and please let me know what you think about it.

I do not own Bleach, that please is Tite Kubo's.

* * *

The young woman hurried to cross the street before the light changed again. Hopefully the small group of men that had been behind her would get stuck on the side of the road giving her a chance to get away. She was used to getting looked at and even sometimes hearing the men call out to her but now...after everything she had been through, she was worried they would try to do some of the things they said.

She rushed into the grocery store she had been originally headed for and paused to look out the window. They weren't there anymore. Good. People would probably never guess she could actually defend herself, she knew she could. Her best friend Tatsuki-chan made sure she was well trained, but she didn't think she'd be able to hold off a group of big men.

She released the breath she had been holding and slowly stood up straight. Her bright auburn hair sliding back over her shoulders as her large grey eyes lost the tension surrounding them.

"Oh, good morning Orihime-chan!" the aging clerk called to her.

"Good morning, Minoru-san. How is your business today?"

The clerk watched her move away from the window. He worried about Inoue Orihime. She was such a loving person and always looked for the good in everybody. He knew, from experience, that some people had no good to be found.

Orihime was also too beautiful for her own good. The funny thing he had noticed over the years was that she didn't seem to realize how beautiful she truly was. He had known her ever since she and her late brother Sora moved into the neighborhood. He had watched her transform from a cute little girl into the amazingly beautiful woman that stood before him.

He knew her beauty was the cause of her worry when she had ran into the shop.

The gentle girl gasped loudly and waved her arms around in her excitement, "Oh goodness! I didn't know you were going to have a sale on red-bean paste, Minoru-san! This must be my lucky day!"

"I knew you would be excited about that Orihime-chan." he laughed gently as she began filling her basket with her favorite treat.

Regardless of the horrible things she had went through in life she seemed to keep that smile on her face. Everyone around her was affected by that smile. He had seen some of the most cruel men that came into his store speak to her politely after she turned that smile on them. It didn't stop everyone though. Minoru knew she got more than her share of stares and cat calls from the scum that walked the streets.

She ran up to the counter and deposited her items to be purchased.

"Thank you so much, Minoru-san. Have a wonderful day!" she called as she walked out of the store with her bags in hand.

He waved back to the girl giving her a smile in return. "You too Orihime-chan. Be careful!"

He watched as she went back across the street and headed towards her apartment. He worried about her; how could he not? She had no one else to rely on. No family left to help support her. She was a strong girl but she shouldn't have to go through life alone.

He greeted the next customer as they came in but his mind was still on Orihime. He wished she had someone to watch over her.

-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-

Kurosaki Karin hefted her book bag a little higher on her shoulder as she made her way to Inoue Orihime's apartment. Her friendship with the beauty was still somewhat strange to her.

She could still remember too vivdly everything that had happened a year and a half ago.

She had watched as her sister, Yuzu, had collapsed to the ground when a horrible presence arrived in Karakura town. A tremendous pressure had come down upon her causing her to fall to the floor and it took every bit of her strength just to keep breathing. Even if she could have moved she would not have. Every cell in her body locked up in fear at the presence surrounding her.

After what had seemed like an eternity passed, the pressure was removed. She stood up and took several deep breaths. Yuzu was still asleep so she moved her sister to their room and stayed beside her. She didn't want to leave the house just yet. Besides, she had a bad feeling about everything that had just happened. She knew somehow that Ichi-nii would be involved.

The sound of the front door opening drew her attention a couple of hours later. She slowly opened the door of their bedroom and peaked out; not wanting to draw attention to herself in case it wasn't her father or brother.

She waited silently as the footsteps came closer up the stairs. Soon enough, her father came into view carrying an unconscious Ichigo. He walked into his sons room and closed the door. She would have ran out to them demanding answers but what she had seen had stopped her.

_Dad? Dad is a shinigami too?_

She had frozen in place, unable to even close her door. Her father had been cloaked in the same black shinigami outfit she had seen Ichigo and Hitsugaya Toshiro wear.

She finally gathered her wits about her and shut the door silently. She made her way back to the spot she had taken to watch over Yuzu and sat down once again. Although she wanted to go check on her brother she just couldn't face them right now.

Her brother had never actually told her about being a shinigami, she had simply confronted him about it. Her father...kami, she just still couldn't process it.

Lowering her head into her hands she began to weep as quietly as she could. What was up with their family? Was her mother one too before she died? Was this the reason she could see ghosts and those monsters that had attacked her before? Why couldn't Yuzu see those things? Too many questions raced across her mind and the stress had been too much for her. She laid her head on Yuzu's bed and fell asleep.

Karin woke up the next morning in her bed. She assumed her father placed her there. The smell of breakfast greeted her and Yuzu's bed was empty. A sigh passed her lips. At least she was okay.

The sight in the dining room that morning stunned her. Yuzu was nowhere to been seen but at the table her father was seated talking to her brothers' friends, Ishida Uryu, Sado Yasutora, and Inoue Orihime.

"Ah, good morning Karin." her father beamed. His usual goofy face in place.

Karin was skeptical about that look. His face had been rather serious when he had been talking to the small group at the table but the moment he turned to her that changed. "Where's Yuzu?"

Kurosaki Isshin held his smile, "Your sister has already left for school. You seemed so worn out that I felt it would be okay for you to miss today my daughter. Would you like daddy to fix you breakfast?" he had started to get up but she had put up her hand, palm out, and he paused.

He was going to treat her like a child just like Ichigo did? They just continued to put themselves in harms way and expected her to go about her daily routine. Her quick temper flashed to the surface and at the moment she really couldn't care less who was in the room with them. Besides, if he had been speaking to Ichigo's friends so seriously they obviously knew what was going on.

"Save it dad. What you can do is explain to me why you carried Ichi-nii in last night unconscious. Oh, and also how about explaining what that was yesterday that made Yuzu pass out and made me struggle for every breath I took." Her father's eyes had gotten impossibly large the moment she started talking. "You can finish up by telling me why you never told me you were a shinigami."

If Karin had not been so frustrated with her father she might have been worried he was going to pass out. He had not moved an inch since she finished her demands. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open slightly. No one in the room spoke while Isshin desperately tried to regain his composure.

He ran a hand over his face and in the same voice he had been using to speak with Ichigo's friends he finally addressed her. "Karin, what happened yesterday..." he paused, seemingly trying to find the right words before he sighed and continued. "It doesn't matter. It's over now. I'm sorry you went through that. I never imagined you'd be awake during it. I figured you would have fallen asleep with Yuzu." he turned his apologetic gaze on her.

She opened her mouth to speak but he interupted her. "I don't think right now is the best time to discuss your other questions."

She held her father's gaze. His eyes told her everything she needed to know at that moment. He wasn't going to tell her anything for a long time. She clenched her fists in anger. How dare her father and brother continue to shut her out! They acted as if she didn't deserve to know anything!

"Fine, I get it!" she spat at her father and strode out of the house. The moment she had cleared the door she started running as fast as she could. She ran until she had poured all the anger and frustration she felt towards her father out in adrenaline. She ran until she collapsed in her favorite park.

She laid there, never moving, simply watching as the clouds rolled past. Her mind was in such chaos that she couldn't find one specific thing to mull over. All she knew was right then she didn't want to see any of her family.

She heard footsteps coming up behind her but didn't bother to turn around and figure out who it was. The person came to lay beside her but she still didn't turn her head. For several minutes the pair lay there next to each other in silence. Finally her curiosity got the better of her and she glanced over to find Inoue Orihime laying next to her.

"Your father and brother are something else aren't they?" the auburn haired beauty asked without looking away from the sky.

Karin decided not to answer her. She really didn't know why Orihime had come. She had never had a real conversation with the older girl. Karin knew she was best friends with Tatsuki and lately she had been hanging around her brother more. She could guess why now. Before she had been confused about it because she didn't believe her repressed brother could ever get with someone as beautiful and kind as the girl next to her.

Orihime began speaking again, interrupting her thoughts. "They try to take everything on themselves. They don't want to bother anyone else with the problems and dangers they face."

"I'm their family. I deserve to know what's going on." Karin finally mumbled.

Orihime turned her head to look in Karin's eyes. "That's true. You do deserve to know what's going on. I can only imagine how confused you must be. Your father didn't know you were able to see so much."

"Ichi-nii did. I told him months ago I knew he was a shinigami."

Orihime's face showed the shock she felt from that statement. An understanding smile took it's place. "Let's talk then shall we?"

The pair lay on the hill for hours talking. Karin asked many questions and Orihime answered them honestly. Orihime decided to hold nothing back from Karin. By the things she was asking Karin had been able to see and understand much more than anyone would have ever suspected. She felt the girl deserved to know what had been going on.

By the end of that day Karin had found a new friend in Orihime. When they walked back to the Kurosaki household, she was no longer upset at her father. He had met them at the door with that serious look still on his face.

"Karin..."

She only glanced at her father and spoke as she walked past him. "Wipe that look off your face goat-chin. It only makes you look more stupid."

She didn't look back to see his reaction but Orihime saw the smile that graced his features. As she went inside to gather her things up Isshin caught her in a hug.

"Thank you Orihime-chan." he had whispered to her.

From that day onward, Karin had spent more time with Orihime. Ichigo had lost his powers in the battle with Aizen and he had quit spending so much time with the healer. Karin was more upset with her brother than Orihime ever could be, not that she was. Whenever Karin said something about it to her she would only ever reply with, "It's okay Karin-chan. He wants to enjoy this normalcy he's finally found. It's not like he ignores me. We still talk in school. But now he has time to spend with his friends and do everything normal high school students do. I would never take that away from him."

She might have been chipper when she said it but Karin could see the pain her eyes held when she spoke about Ichigo. Months after their first talk Karin got Orihime to open up about her time in Hueco Mundo. She had been noticing the dark circles under her older friend's eyes and asked her about it. Orihime had been suffering from nightmares ever since she returned. They didn't happen every night, but when they did she could never go back to sleep and she suffered for it.

No one had ever asked her why she went or what she had been through when she was there; besides Tatsuki. When Aizen was defeated and Ichigo lost his powers Soul Society stopped coming around. In fact, the only shinigami Karin ever saw was the occasional lower rank fighter who stopped the hollows that cropped up. Even those were few and far between. Ishida, Sado, and Orihime had taken over fighting the hollows in Ichigos' place.

Ichigo knew that Ishida had been fighting the hollows but he never knew Orihime was doing so as well. Karin kicked a rock out of her way as her temper began creeping up. What did her stupid brother think was gonna happen? The hollows would just quit coming around? Her father and her still had higher reiatsu than normal so it drew them to her house. Many times she had seen Orihime's fighter Tsubaki (she still wanted to call them fairies even though they informed her they weren't) streak through the sky and destroy a hollow as it had made the way to her house.

Orihime had gotten much better at fighting over the past year. She was very proud of herself for that fact as well. She had always been hesitant about fighting. She was just not the kind of person who could handle hurting others. They had been at Orihime's apartment one afternoon talking about it when Karin asked her, "Didn't you say that when you kill the hollows it's cleansing their souls so they can return to Soul Society?"

Once she had made that statement Orihime's face lit up with excitement and she began trying harder and harder to become a better fighter. Now that she knew she was actually helping a lost soul she had no qualms about exterminating the hollow.

Karin pushed the hair out of her face as the wind picked up. She was almost at Orihime's apartment. The older woman was very important to Karin now. She had learned that even though she acted ditsy, she was actually very smart. She was the third in the school in grades. So when Karin began having problems with math and her English class she asked Orhime if she could help her. She happily agreed and that was the start of their new arrangement.

They got together twice a week for Orihime to tutor her. Thanks to Orihime, Karin was now one of the top students in class. Her English was so improved that she could hold a simple conversation fluently; but the lesson's didn't stop there.

Orihime taught her about being a woman as well. Yuzu had began coming along when she noticed the changes in her sister. She was wearing skirts more often. She was letting her hair grow out and she wasn't throwing punches everytime someone upset her. The girls had lost their mother when they were very young and they had not had a woman to look to or to ask questions to about their maturing bodies. That's where Orihime stepped in.

She also knew how it was not to have someone to explain the changes in her body. Thankfully between Tatsuki's mother and the knowledge she had learned from books and magazines, Orihime had figured it out. It was not something she wanted the Kurosaki sisters to have to do. She was sure their father would answer anything they asked of him but it wasn't the same as asking a woman who had gone through it.

Saturday nights became girls night. They would get together, sometimes Tatsuki would come as well, and they would watch sappy movies, do each others nails, and Orihime and Tatsuki would explain the changes that went along with puberty. It was a new experience for all of them. Karin and Tatsuki were not very _girly _to begin with and were slow to open up during their times together, Yuzu loved all of it and was very enthusiastic, Orihime had never had many friends, only Tatsuki, so gathering in a group like they did to just hang out was a new concept for her as well.

It took a few times meeting like they did for everyone to feel comfortable but once they did it became a time none of them wanted to give up. Tatsuki couldn't make it all the time because of her karate matches but Orihime made sure the next time she came she made up for all she had missed.

Karin smiled thinking about this Saturday night. They had made plans to attened the festival in town. She might not have shown it well but she was very excited. She couldn't wait for the week to pass. The wind picked up again and she was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the figure that had moved up behind her until he spoke.

"That's a pretty strong reiatsu you have for a human, girl."

Karin spun around quickly and tried to keep the fear from her face. This was not an ordinary hollow. He still had a white mask like the others she had seen but it only covered part of his face. The mask covered his left eye, nose, and the side of his mouth. His right, bright green eye was left uncovered and narrowed as it studied her. His long black hair was unkempt and his clothes, that she could tell were once white, were dirty and ragged.

She took a step back as his hand moved towards the sword strapped to his side.

"What do you want?" she asked as she kept backing up slowly.

"I was waiting for my prey to show up when I detected your reiatsu coming this way." He took a step towards her. "I think I'll have a little fun with you while I wait."

He moved too quick for her to see and suddenly he was in front of her landing a strong kick to her chest, throwing her backwards into the road.

She groaned aloud as she tired to get up. Her body was on fire. One kick from that guy and she was pretty sure he had broken her ribs. She looked around for her bookbag. Her cell phone was inside it and if she could just reach it she could call her dad since Orihime did not own one. Unfortunately, it was several feet away from her. It must have flown off when he kicked her.

"Okay, so maybe you won't be as fun as I though. You're nearly done and I haven't even started." he drew his sword and stopped in front of her. "Pathetic human. You shouldn't even be breathing the same air as me."

He raised his sword and Karin could do nothing but close her eyes and wait for him to strike her. She couldn't even roll out of the way. Every time she tried to breath her chest tightened in pain. She could feel the blood pooling in her mouth. _This is it. _She kept her eyes closed and waited for the blow.

She heard his sword swinging through the air but no pain came. She heard a dull thud and opened her eyes to find herself behind a glowing gold shield.

-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-

_A few minutes prior..._

Orihime shifted her bags to her other hand as she continued on her way home. Karin-chan would be at her apartment soon for their tutoring session. She was so glad she had been able to become such good friends with both of the Kurosaki girls.

Yuzu was the sweet soul of the Kurosaki family. She reminded her a lot of herself actually. She enjoyed cooking, even though she didn't share Orihime's tastes but no one did really, and she was by nature a very sweet person.

Karin put up a very tough exterior but inside Orihime had known there was a lonely little girl. The death of Kurosaki Masaki dealt a very heavy blow to the entire family. All of them dealt with their grief in their own way, and Karin and put up walls around herself so as not to worry anyone.

Through their new friendship, Orihime was beginning to see the kind of person Karin could have always been had her mother been alive. Even though she still kept up her tough exterior Karin was enjoying the make-up lessons and girl talk they all shared once a week.

Even after getting together for over a year, Kurosaki-kun didn't seem to notice the girls friendship with Orihime. She gave a sad sigh at the thought of her love. She rarely saw Kurosaki-kun outside of school anymore. They were still much closer than they had ever been but after he lost his powers he threw himself into what was now his "normal" life. He was able to do the things he never was before and though she missed him greatly she would never wish anything different for him.

As long as he was happy then she would be too. Even though he never spoke about it she knew he missed his friends from Soul Society. They had all gotten so close over such a short amount of time. Especially him and Rukia. Orihime couldn't stop herself from being jealous at the relationship that they shared, even though she wasn't sure how _close_they were; still, she hated to see him sad over anything. It wasn't like she could help him with that either...after Aizen's defeat, she never saw any one of her Soul Society friends either.

For the first couple of months she thought nothing about it. Soul Society had taken some very hard hits during Aizen's attacks and she knew they were all healing and trying to get everything fixed once again within the 13 Court squads. So when she didn't hear from any of them she didn't worry.

After 6 months, she realized they weren't going to check up with her. She had been on pins and needles for the longest time, awaiting an interrogation about when she went to Hueco Mundo. Even when they were still around during the month Kurosaki-kun was unconscious they didn't ask her anything about it. Once he woke up she had expected the questions to come.

They never did.

After he lost his powers and they left, no one came back to speak to her. She had even asked Sado-kun and Ishida-kun if they had seen anyone besides the shinigami sent to protect the town. Neither of them had.

She would often speak to whoever was protecting the town from hollows. They were always a lower ranking shinigami who she didn't know but she still tried to make friends with them. She had helped many of them from hollow attacks as well. She knew they were always alone so when they needed back-up or healing she was there to help them; but whenever she tried to ask about someone in Soul Society they wouldn't answer her questions.

It hurt. She missed Kuchiki-san and Rangiku-san, and Toshiro-kun, and everyone else but apparently they didn't miss her. Even Rangiku-san, who she had opened up to greatly and had gotten so close to had never tried to contact her. Now that there wasn't a substitute shinigami amongst them, the other shinigami had closed themselves off in Soul Society and abandoned the humans they had befriended during the winter war.

She didn't even see Ishida-kun and Sado-kun as much as she used to. Everything was back to the way it was before she knew anything about hollows or shinigami...and she hated it. She hated not being with the friends she had made through combat. She hated that once again the only person she ever saw outside of school was Tatsuki-chan. She hated that she didn't get to see Kurosaki-kun everyday and never at night anymore.

Before she had gotten close to him she simply had a crush on the orange haired teen. After fighting along side him, worrying for him, being saved by him, her crush had developed into a love that filled her entire being. She knew she would never feel the same way about anyone ever again.

Not that he would ever know about her love for him. They were seniors this year. Soon they would be graduating and moving on with life and just the thought of not seeing him anymore brought such pain to her chest that her breathing would get difficult.

She would grit her teeth and deal with alone though. He had gotten his wish for a normal life and from what she could tell through her brief interactions with him and from what his sisters said he was happy. That, more than anything, was her wish for him.

But now more than ever before, she was lonely.

Orihime shook her head to get rid of her depressing thoughts before she met up with Karin-chan. His little sister was a smart girl and Orihime had a strong suspicion she already knew she had feelings for Kurosaki-kun. She never wanted Karin-chan or Yuzu-chan to think she was spending time with them to see their brother. She truly loved those girls. They were kind, funny people and she was glad she had gotten to know them so mood was greatly improved by them time she rounded the corner of the block her apartment was on.

That was until she saw the Arrancar swinging his sword down on an obviously wounded Karin-chan.

She instinctively called her Santen Kesshun to shield Karin-chan. Her bags were long forgotten as she ran towards them.


	2. Chapter 2

"I know this shield." the Arrancar said as he removed his sword from its surface and turned to find the person who cast it.

Orihime was racing towards Karin-chan. Keeping her shield in place she called Shuno and Ayame to being healing her.

The Arrancar was not making a move to attack them again so she stopped beside Karin-chan to see how bad the damage was. Her skin was already pale, her breathing was erratic and she was taking very short, fast breaths. Blood was trickling from her mouth; he must have hit her in the chest she thought. Karin-chan was obviously in a lot of pain but she wasn't crying.

Her voice was very weak and laced with pain as she tried to call out Orihime's name.

"Don't try to talk Karin-chan." Orihime rushed to silence the girl. She pushed her reiatsu even higher to try and speed the healing process. Normally she healed shinigami or Sado-kun or Ishida-kun who had high reiatsus like she did. Karin-chan had received a blow that looked to be a near deadly one and she didn't know how long it would take to heal. "Just relax and let me heal you."

The Arrancar laughed at Orihime's statement and she whipped her head around to face him. "You won't have time to heal him Inoue Orihime."

She was stunned. "How do you know my name?"

"I'm sure you don't remember me but I saw you often enough at Hueco Mundo." at the mention of that dreadful place Orihime gasped. "What? Just because you and your _friends_," he sneered the word, "took care of the Espada you thought you were done with us? Aizen did quite a few trials before he began making the caliber of Arrancar he wanted for the Espada. It seems you all never thought to look for the rest of us _low _ranking Arrancar. No matter. Now that Aizen is gone we can move about freely once again." He began circling her, dragging his sword along the road as he walked.

Orihime tried hard not to show her fear. She had gotten much better at fighting but that was against normal hollows. This Arrancar's reiatsu, though nowhere near the level the Espada had, was much higher than a hollow's and she didn't know how well she would do fighting him. She had to though. If she didn't defeat him Karin-chan's life was in danger. "What do you want? Why did you come here?" she asked.

"Oh I came to scout out the place. I wanted to see how strong you all were now after Aizen's defeat. You wanna know what I find so funny?"

Orihime couldn't help but think his face didn't look like he was amused at all.

"I get here and I can barely feel that bastard Kurosaki's reiatsu. Did he get mortally wounded or something in his fight against Aizen?"

She didn't answer him. She was confused though. Orihime hadn't seen Kurosaki-kun for a few days, they didn't have the same classes anymore, because she had been busy with her studies and clubs but the last time she saw him his reiatsu had still been the same as a normal humans. Meaning he didn't have any. She could never feel him anymore. Why did this Arrancar say he could feel him at all?

"You know it's not nice to ignore someone Orihime-_chan_." he lashed out at her with his sword and she jumped back, narrowly missing the blade.

He continued to swing away at her and she avoided his attacks while moving away from Karin-chan. She had to move the battle as far away from her as she could. She breifly glanced away to see that they had moved far enough away from the girl and he took advantage of it. When she looked back at him she only had time to move so the blade did not land a mortal blow but she took a hit to her left shoulder.

She cried out in pain and stumbled away from him, clutching her now bleeding shoulder. She couldn't heal herself because Karin-chan was still hurt to badly to remove her Soten Kisshun.

"Feel proud you will die by the hands of Ildefonso, Inoue Orihime. I know you healed some of my breathern so I will be merciful and give you a quick death." With that said he rushed towards her and swung his sword down hard, only to meet her shield once again.

She had been moving away from Karin-chan so she could use her shield. She didn't want him to be so close that he could attack either of them. She could only make one shield after all.

When she used it against him she saw the surprise in his eyes. Then came the rage. He slashed again and again at her shield but it did not break. Her powers had grown a lot over the past year.

"Bitch. You don't want my mercy, fine. Then I'll start by torturing that soft heart of yours." He used his sonido to flash away from her. She searched desperately for him and fear built once again in the pit of her stomach when she saw him in front of Karin-chan with his sword raised for attack.

She ran towards him again. If he attacked her Soten Kisshun it would break. It was not designed to withstand attacks, so Karin-chan was in danger again.

Orihime could feel her own temper igniting. She might be a happy, laid-back person but attacking the people the cared about was something unforgiveable in her mind. She quickly called her Santen Kesshun in front of Karin-chan and while he was distracted for that moment she attacked him. Forgetting all about Tsubaki for the moment she landed a high flying kick to the side of his head. The Arrancar went flying but she didn't stop. She ran after him and continued to land hit after hit while he was momentarily stunned.

"Woman, what are you doing! Calm down and finish this!" she could hear Tsubaki in her mind and with his words, she calmed down enough to drop back and call him forth.

"Tsubaki" he flew from her hairpin and waited in front of her for orders. "Koten Zanshun!"

He raced towards the Arrancar but Ildenfonso swept past him and grabbed Orihime around her throat, lifting her to eye level. She matched his stare but her fear was leaking into her own gaze. He had blood running down the side of his head from her attacks. He squeezed her throat harder and brought her face close to his own.

"I told you I would be merciful but you don't seem to want that." his voice was low and filled with hate as he spoke to her. "Have it your way, human. I warned you." He plunged his sword into her stomach.

Orihime couldn't find the strength to scream as his sword pierced her flesh. Pain unlike any she had ever known before ripped through her body. She couldn't scream, couldn't breath, could do nothing but hang from his hand and let the waves of pain rip her body apart. He wasn't done though. Before he removed the sword his twisted it violently tearing a huge hole into her slim torso. He ripped his sword from her and tossed her aside.

She landed on her back, facing Karin-chan. She thought she could hear her screaming but wasn't able to make out her words. She watched, helpless, as he approached Karin-chan once again.

_No. No. This can't happen. I can't watch her die. Kurosaki-kun couldn't handle losing another family member. _Orihime tried to move but was completely paralized by the pain and blood loss.

_Do something. Think Orihime! I will not watch anyone die, never again. I will not. I will not. I WILL NOT! _

Orihime's resolve hardend and even though she couldn't move she could feel her connection with her powers stronger than ever. As the Arrancar raised his sword against Karin-chan, once again she called to her powers.

_Hinagiku, Baigon, Lily, trap him. _At her orders the shield moved once again but now it slammed Ildenfenso into the ground and held him flat to it.

"What the hell is this!" he screamed and struggled but could not move the golden barrier.

_Tsubaki-kun. Kill him. _

Tsubaki's power had never been so great. His light was bright and much wider than ever before.

"This is how you should fight all the time woman!" Tsubaki yelled to the girl with a smile behind his mask. He shot into the sky above the trapped Arrancar then raced towards him at a blinding speed. He easily slipped through the shield and pierced through Ildenfenso's skull killing him instantly.

Once he was dead the Shun Shun Rika went to Orihime's side.

"Orihime-san, Orihime-san, can you hear me?" she couldn't tell who was talking to her and she didn't have the strength to answer.

"Don't close your eyes."

"Heal yourself Orihime-san."

"Woman, don't you dare do this shit."

_Ah, Tsubaki-kun. How kind you truly are. Sorry everyone. _She closed her eyes and let the mind-numbing pain consume her.

-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-

Karin raced to Orihime's side. She still couldn't process what had just happened. She knew from Orihime's stories what the Arrancar were but she had never known they would be so powerful and frightening.

She stilled as she came close to Orihime. There was so much blood everywhere. When she got next to her she could clearly see the hole the Arrancar ripped into her stomach. She felt the bile rise in her throat and she had to make a conscious effort not to vomit at the sight of Orihime's internal organs being open for display.

She didn't even notice when she started crying but she felt the tears rolling down her cheeks anyway.

"Hey, Hey! Listen to me when I'm talking to you girl!" Karin recognized Orihime's power Tsubaki talking to her. She had met all of them one time a few months ago after she had begged Orihime to show her powers.

"What?" Karin replyed meekly.

"She's dying but she's not dead. You've got to hurry and help us if you want to save her. Our power is running out fast. She's somehow holding on to consciousness allowing us to remain here." Ayame said.

"What can I possibly do?"

"Isn't your father a shinigami?" the large one said. She couldn't think of his name at the moment.

Understanding flashed across her brain and she scrambled away to find her bag. She dropped to her knees next to it and frantically dialed her home. The few seconds it took for her father to answer the phone seemed like hours as she watched the blood continue to leak from Orihime's body.

"Kurosaki clini..."

"Dad! Dad!" she screamed into the phone.

"Karin. What's wrong?"

"Get over to Orihime's house now. You have to hurry. Do...whatever it is you do to become a shinigami and hurry up! She's dying!" Karin closed the phone not giving him a chance to reply.

"We need to get out of the street Karin-chan. Do you think you can get her into the apartment?" Ayame asked.

Karin wiped the tears from her face and bent down to Orihime.

"I've got help coming. Please try to stay with me Orihime-nii." she whispered, her voice cracking with unshed tears, as she scooped the larger girl into her arms. She was glad she was a strong girl and she only faltered a few times under the red-head's weight.

-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-

The scowling young teen glanced behind him again looking for a presence he knew he wouldn't find. Lately he had been feeling what he thought were faint traces of reiatsu but he knew that wasn't possible anymore. Regardless of the strange dreams he had been having.

Kurosaki Ichigo continued on his way home after leaving his job and annoying boss. He enjoyed it though. Being able to have a normal job that is. For too long in his life he had felt and seen ghosts and been able to interact with them. He willingly took the role as a substitute shinigami to protect his family and friends. Now that his powers were gone he was enjoying being a normal teenager.

At least he had been.

He had never been normal. As far back as he could remember he had always been able to see ghosts. He understood why now, seeing as how his father was a shinigami. With the ability gone, he had thrown himself into a normal high school life. He was enjoying school, hanging out with his friends, and saving money for college. However, it didn't take too long for him to grow restless.

He had been training and fighting almost non-stop for a year previously; now that he didn't have to, the inactivity was beginning to get to him. Sometimes at home he would notice Karin say something quietly to no one in particular or roll her eyes at a comment he couldn't hear and he found himself wondering who she was talking to and breifly wishing he could speak to them too.

He had always wished for a normal life and now that he had it he didn't know what to do with it. The mundane pace of a life without hollows was great for the first few months but he soon found himself needing more to do. He missed his sparing with Renji, his verbal banter with the midget Rukia, hell at this point he even _kinda_ missed Kenpachi's crazy ass. He knew there was nothing he could do to get his powers back so he tried hard to push thoughts about his Soul Society companions from his mind.

He opened his front door and tensed for the attack he knew would come.

"Welcome home Ichigo!" his father yelled as he attempted to kick his son in the side. Ichigo retaliated by grabbing his fathers foot and throwing him into the wall.

Kurosaki Isshin pulled himself up while rubbing the soon to be knot forming on the back of his head. "Good job my son. I have nothing left to teach you as your father."

"You say that all the time yet you continue to attack me. Be normal old man!"

"Where's the fun in that?" he replied as he stode off towards the kitchen. Ichigo followed, not bothering to put his bag down yet.

"Where's Yuzu?" Ichigo asked his immature father.

"She's picking up groceries for dinner. She should be home soon. So tell me Ichigo, anything great happen today? Have you got a girl for daddy to meet yet?"

Ichigo averted his eyes from his fathers so he could try to calm his raging temper. "Forget it old man. I wouldn't tell you anything about my life even if there was something to tell."

Isshin sighed dramatically at his only son, "Ichigo my boy. You've got to loosen up. How are you ever gonna meet someone and make me some adorable grandchildren if you are always so mean and uptight?"

Ichigo grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before answering him. "I'm too damn young to think about that!"

Before Isshin could reply the phone rang. He was closer so he answered. "Kurosaki clini..."

"Dad. Dad!" Ichigo turned to face his father. He could hear Karin's panic stricken voice over the phone from his position across the kitchen.

"Karin. What's wrong?" Isshin asked his daughter. He locked eyes with Ichigo. He had never heard his daughter sound so scared.

Ichigo's fists clenched as he waited to hear from Karin. He had only heard her sound so scared a couple of times in his life and each was when she had been attacked by a hollow. His knuckles were white by the time he finished that thought. If she was being attacked there was nothing he could do about it. He didn't have any power and he would have to rely on his father to do everything.

That was the one thing he had been most scared about when he awoke with his powers gone. He wouldn't be able to protect his family from any hollow attacks. Surprisingly, there had not been any. Or rather, if there had, he assumed his father had taken care of it and just never told him. Whatever the reason he was glad his family had been safe.

Karin's voice brought his focus back. "Get over to Orihime's house now. You have to hurry. Do...whatever it is you do to become a shinigami and hurry up! She's dying!" Ichigo heard the line go dead. His eyes widened and the fists he had been making tightened even further at her words.

"Inoue." Dying? What was Karin talking about? All he knew was he had to hurry to her now.

He watched his father rush into his office and return with a black bag. He didn't pause in his stride, rather he called back to Ichigo. "Hurry up boy!"

The pair rushed out of the house hell bent towards Orihime's apartment.

_You'd better be safe, Inoue._

_

* * *

_

Nothing could have prepared him.

He knew no matter how long he lived he would never forget the sight he found when he rushed into Inoue's apartment.

When he opened the door his body tensed as the familiar metallic smell of blood hit his nostrils. Karin's muffled cries hit his ears as he walked further into the house.

He saw her, kneeling by Inoue, blood covering her chest and arms.

He knew it wasn't hers.

He almost couldn't make himself look down at her. He was scared. For the first time in a long time he was scared.

Her bright auburn hair was fanned around her, slightly damp from sweat and tinged with her blood. Her skin was pale, her lips turning a dusky shade. Ichigo could barely see the rise and fall of her chest. When he looked at her stomach, what he saw shocked him so badly his knees gave way.

Karin had finished ripping the material away so her flat stomach was bared. Blood covered her entire abdomen and pooled around her body. What horrified him was the fact that he could see the back of her shirt through the hole in her body. For a brief moment he wondered if this was what he looked like when Ulquiorra blasted him with the cero.

Isshin stopped beside his son and lost the grip on his bag. He saw Orihime's chest rise and was amazed she could still be breathing. He saw his daughter beside her and was taken aback by the blood covering her until he realized all of it belonged to the gentle woman beside her.

"Dad. Please, help her."


	3. Chapter 3

"I...I don't know if I can." Isshin hesitated to say.

"Just try!" Karin screamed at her father through her tears. Ichigo had yet to say anything. He couldn't say anything. His mind had shut down the moment he looked at Inoue. All he could process was the massive amount of blood covering his friend. Anger clouded his system and made his vision run red. He needed to kill someone, no not someone, he needed to rip whoever did this to Inoue apart limb from limb; but...it would have to wait. Inoue was laying before him dying and he couldn't do anything to help her.

He saw his father move from the corner of his eye and watched as he pulled an artificial soul pill from his pocket. He swallowed it and he knew the body standing next to him now was not inhabited by his father.

"Go home and wait for Yuzu." Isshin instructed the artifical soul.

Ichigo watched as his father's body left the apartment. He couldn't see him in shinigami form but he knew he was there. Karin began talking to an empty spot in the room and he knew she was speaking to their father. For the first time he **hated** the fact that he didn't have his powers.

Isshin focused his kido into the girls body trying desperately to close the wound but he knew it wasn't going to do it. Her injuries were beyond what he could do to help her. Even if he ran to Soul Society and dragged Unohana back he knew it would be too late. He would try though. For the sake of his daughter that was crying next to her and for his son that hadn't moved since he came in to the apartment, he would try.

He liked Orihime. She was a gentle woman whos' smile lit up the room when she walked in. In fact, she reminded him a lot of Masaki. He knew she was someone important to Ichigo and over the past year she had become close with both of his daughters. He remembered the first time he met Orihime. It had been the day she carried her broken and bleeding brother on her back to their clinic door. He wouldn't see her until a few years later, and when he did he was stunned by how much she had changed.

He watched her now. The rise and fall of her chest was slowing and her skin was becoming grey. He closed his eyes and tried to strengthen his kido, pointless as he knew it was.

"Your reiatsu is close to his but it's not enough." Isshin turned his head towards the voice that had spoken and was shocked to find a...fairy?

"What are you? Where'd you come from?"

"Don't bother asking me right now. My power is fading fast. If we don't do something that annoying woman is gonna die!" the masked little man said. Though he tried to sound mad Isshin could detect the worry in his voice. He reminded him of Ichigo.

"Kurosaki Ichigo-san. Though it is small your reiatsu...it's back."

Karin turned to Ayame. "What?"

"His reiatsu...I can feel it now. We have been unable to detect it ever since he awoke after Hueco Mundo but now I can feel it. This is perfect! Ichigo-san come over here." Ichigo didn't move from his spot on the floor. "Ichigo-san we have no time to waste."

"He can't hear you."

Ichigo lifted his head to look at Karin. She was speaking to someone about him but who? She turned away from him to listen to someone then spoke again. "Ichi-nii, come over here please."

"What is it Karin?" he asked but moved over next to Orihime anyway. He couldn't help but cringe as he knelt in the puddle of blood surrounding her.

"Just trust me for now okay? Take Orihime's hand."

"Huh?"

"Just do it!" she screamed and he grasped Inoue's hand in his. Immediately he felt a strange weakening from his body. His strength was leaving him rapidly and he was glad he was sitting down or else he feared he would have fallen. Karin watched a spot by his shoulder and nodded her head.

"Since you still can't see them I'm gonna let you know what Orihime's powers want to say to you. Ayame said that she could feel your reiatsu again." Ichigo was shocked. He shouldn't have any reiatsu. "Apparently you were the reason the Shun Shun Rikka materialized long before they said they ever would have. Because of that they are able to link with your reiatsu easily. You feel so tired right now because they are pulling from your reiatsu. I know you can't see it but you and Orihime are under her Soten Kisshun."

Ichigo didn't say anything to this. He was still too shocked over the news that he had reiatsu again. Everything was making more sense now though. The times he would think he sensed reiatsu or a ghosts presence, the weird dreams he had been having. His reiatsu had been coming back. He looked at Inoue and noticed her color was picking up a little bit. It seemed the Rikka really could link with his reiatsu. He wished he had more. He would give anything at that moment to be able to send a large pulse of energy out so they could heal her faster.

"Where's dad?" he asked.

"Standing beside me. Now that they are using their power to heal her he can't use whatever power he was using to help her." She paused as he obviously said something to her. "Kido, yeah whatever."

They all sat there in silence while the Rikka tried to heal Orihime. Ichigo studied the hand in his. Her skin was starting to warm up and she had lost the horrible pale color her face held. Her hand was so small compared to his. Her skin was smooth against his rough, battle hardened one. He glanced up to her face wishing he could look into her shining grey eyes. He knew he had not been spending as much time with her as he used to but he had selfishly been enjoying his new found freedom. What had she been doing? Had she been in danger this whole time? He sat there mentally berating himself for ignoring his friend for so long.

After a couple of hours he noticed he no longer felt weak. He got worried. "Are the Rikka still healing her?" he asked Karin.

"Do not worry Ichigo-san. Everything is going well so far."

Ichigo whipped his head side to side trying to find the owner of the voice. "Who said that?"

"Could you hear that Ichi-nii?" Karin's surprised voice reached her brother.

"Yeah. I can't see who said it but I could hear them."

"Interesting." A tiny male voice replied.

"Whatever. Karin, tell me what happened. What attacked Inoue?"

Ichigo sat and listened as Karin explained everything that had happened during the attack. His eyes narrowed in anger as she spoke. There were still Arrancar running about Hueco Mundo? Why hadn't Soul Society dealt with them already? He wished he could actually ask one of them about it.

Actually he wished he could kick someone's ass for not dealing with this already.

He unconsciously linked his fingers with Inoue's as Karin told them how she had healed her and shielded her from attack. Ichigo could see Karin's arms were slightly away from her body and resting on something. He figured his dad had wrapped Karin in his arms.

"Really though, I wish you could have seen it Ichi-nii. Orihime was wailing on that dude." Karin laughed for the first time in what felt like ages. "I knew she knew karate but she was totally kicking butt!"

"Since when did she know karate?" Ichigo asked.

Karin's eyes narrowed at her brother. "Do you even know **anything**about her? Tatsuki has been teaching Orihime karate for years! She's got the skills of a black belt!"

Ichigo could feel the anger rolling off his little sister towards him. He couldn't help it if Inoue didn't tell him something. How was it his fault if he didn't know something about her? Though, he was sure he didn't know a lot about her. They weren't particularly close like he and Sado or Tatsuki were. How much did he really not know about her? He wasn't exactly the kind of guy that just sat down and talked with someone either.

_**"No shit king. That would take brains."**_

Ichigo froze. No way. No freaking way was that what he thought it was.

_**"As I said. No brains. Yeah it's me dumbass. Good thing I've finally got my strength back if those damn Arrancar are back."**_

_"How the hell are you back!" _Ichigo demanded of his hollow.

_**"Ask Orihime. Woman's got talent. She ain't even doing it on purpose and yet her power reaches me. You finally did something right and picked a good one for us to protect."**_

Ichigo decided not to ask him what he meant by that cryptic comment.

"Ichigo? What is it?" he looked up and was shocked yet again to see his father, in his shinigami garb, sitting across from him holding Karin.

"Alright, what the fuck is going on?"

One of Inoue's powers, Ayame he thought, looked over to him from where she was healing Inoue to answer him. "I'm sorry Ichigo-san. We...we never thought this would happen."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"It has been necessary for you to keep contact with Orihime-san therefore you have been under our healing as well for the past few hours." she looked away, hesitant to continue. "It seems that we were able to heal the part of your soul that was locked away when you activated your final getsuga tensho. Your reiatsu has been fully restored."

No one spoke. Isshin looked just as shocked as Ichigo did.

"She...Orihime-chan can heal a soul?" Isshin asked in disbelief.

"Tch, the woman isn't much of a fighter, she's getting better I'll giver her that, but she is powerful as hell. More so than she even realizes." Tsubaki said. "Hell, in Hueco Mundo she brought that other Arrancar bitch back to life. I'm sure the reason it didn't work on berry-boy was because..."

"Enough Tsubaki!" Ayame interrupted him. "That is not spoken of and you know it."

"Yeah, whatever."

"This is unreal. No wonder Aizen kidnapped her." Isshin declared from his spot across the room. "I knew her reiatsu was powerful but never would I have thought her abilities would be this great."

"She's always been really good at healing. I watched her heal Rukia when she had a hole punched..." Ichigo stopped himself before he could finish the sentence. Inoue had the same injury Rukia had gotten. For some reason, thinking of Inoue with the injury bothered him much more than when Rukia had been injured. He had been worried about Rukia but most of it had been guilt he had felt because he had not been able to prevent the injury; but Rukia was a warrior just like he was. She had been trained for much longer than even he had and she had dealt with injuries before. Knowing Inoue had been hurt, regardless whether he had been there or not, caused his chest to tighten in pain. He squeezed the hand he held tighter to reassure himself that she was there and breathing.

"Of course she's amazing." the larger Rikka stated.

"Yeah, just cause you can't see it doesn't mean it ain't there berry boy." Tsubaki taunted him.

"I know she's amazing! And who are you calling berry boy you..."

He was interrupted by the sweetest sound he thought he'd ever heard.

"Kuro...saki-kun?"

-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-

The pain filled fog was slowly lifting from her brain. She had not passed out from the injuries, but instead had been in a weird semi-conscious state. Her powers had alternated talking within her mind to keep her awake and occupied.

Now that she was fully waking up she could hear people around her talking but she couldn't make out who just yet. She slowly tensed her muscles, feeling around for any injuries. She was still in a lot of pain but it wasn't anything like before. She didn't feel well enough yet to sit up so she continued to lay there and let her head clear completely.

She felt someone squeeze her hand and only then did she notice her fingers were laced with someone else's.

Someone familiars.

In fact, she felt an all too familiar reiatsu, one that shouldn't be possible.

"Kuro...saki-kun?"

"Inoue. Inoue are you alright?" his frantic voice called to her. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking them a few times to clear her vision before she could clearly make out Kurosaki-kun's face. His kind, brown eyes, filled with worry for her, were hovering above her own. If she had the energy she would have blushed.

"I think so. It still hurts a lot but it's much better than before." she answered with a whisper. Her throat still hurt from Ildefonso crushing it in his grip.

"Orihime-san. I'm so glad your awake." Ayame said and the rest of her powers came in front of her.

"Thank you everyone. Thanks for talking to me and keeping me awake. I know if you hadn't I would have died."

"You damn near did you stupid woman! Just wait, when you're better I'm gonna hit you so much!" Tsubaki screeched at her.

Her smile was as bright as she could make it under the circumstances. "I'm sorry I worried you Tsubaki-kun."

He turned his head away and tried to hide the blush that came to his face. "I wasn't worried." he grumbled. Orihime tried to laugh but wound up coughing instead.

"Woah, be careful there Orihime-chan. It looks like you were strangled so your throat is gonna be sore. Try not to talk so much."

Orihime looked over to see Kurosaki Isshin speaking to her. Karin was in his lap.

"Karin-chan. Are you alright?"

The young girl moved away from her father and crawled closer to Orihime. "I'm fine and you should listen to goat-chin. He's an idiot but sometimes he does know what he's talking about. Be quiet. Just lay there and let them finish healing you." Karin gave a small smile at turning Orihime's words back on her.

"Okay. I'm just so glad you're alright." she turned her attention to her Shun Shun Rikka. "Guys, I'm gonna be okay but I'm really, really sleepy. Let's just stop here."

"Are you sure Orihime-san? You're still in a lot of pain." Ayame asked.

"Don't worry about it. We'll finish the healing later." she finished with a yawn and before anyone could say anything she fell asleep.

"Well, I guess that settles that. Kurosaki-san, Ichigo-san, Karin-chan, allow me to thank all of you. Without any one of your help Orihime-san would not have survived." Shuno spoke for the rest of the Rikka.

"We are just glad we were able to help at all." Isshin said. "Are you all alright?"

"We are fine. Our health depends on Orihime-san's. We are drained though, so we will rest with Orihime-san now." Ayame stated.

Tsubaki got right in Ichigo's face and turned his hardened gaze on him. "Can we trust you to watch over her while she recuperates or are you just gonna continue to be useless?"

Ichigo was glad he was still holding Inoue's hand or else he would have been tempted to crush the loud mouthed power. "Be glad you belong to Inoue midget or else I'd kill you."

"And yet you still haven't answered my question." Tsubaki retaliated.

"Of course I'll protect her!" he shouted.

Tsubaki studied him for a moment before nodding his head once. "Good." and all the Rikka returned to her hairpins.

Ichigo studied Inoue's form. Her breathing was much easier now. Her skin had regained it's normal alabaster color and her lips were once again a rosy shade. Her flat, toned stomach no longer held the horrible wound she had been inflicted with. The only way anyone would have been able to tell she had been wounded was the blood that still remained on her clothes and her kitchen floor. His eyes unknowingly softened as he watched her sleep. He had spent too much time away from her. She had been placed in danger, again, and she had been closer to death than ever before.

_Not again. Never again will I allow you to be hurt so badly Inoue. I'm sorry I didn't fulfill my promise to you yet again. But I __**swear**__ I will protect you._

Isshin watched his son carefully. He almost wanted to tease him like normal but decided for once to let the moment pass. He had never seen Ichigo treat someone so gentle before. Karin remained at Orihime's side as well. Tears silently streaking down her face. He was right all along.

Orihime really was a lot like Masaki.

"What should we do now dad?" Karin asked.

"We go home and wait for Yuzu. Orihime-chan needs to sleep to regain her strength. I suspect Ichigo will have no problem remaining here to watch over her."

"Of course not." he hesitated, "But what if..."

"Get your badge Ichigo." Isshin's serious face turned towards his son. Ichigo looked confused but grabbed his badge from his bag anyway. He held the familiar weight in his hand. His reiatsu had returned but would he still be able to become a shinigami?

He was slow to bring the badge to his chest. He closed his eyes as he pressed the cool metal to it.

He felt the pull as his soul separated from his body, and he heard the thud as it hit the floor. He looked around him and sure enough, his body lay on the floor in front of him and Zangetsu was once again strapped to his back. He was neither happy nor was he upset by the return of his powers. He only knew it felt...right. This was how he was supposed to be. This was how 'normal' would be for him.

_**"About time you accepted everything again. Damn you can be a stubborn ass!"**_

He once again ignored his hollow. When everything was calm once again he would enter his mind and speak with the bastard face to face. Well, maybe he'd talk a little bit, mostly he'd enjoy kicking his ass with Zangetsu again.

"How does it feel Ichigo? Are you disappointed?" his father asked him.

He bent down to gently pick Inoue up and moved towards her bedroom. "No. It's how it should be. Leave my body here will ya?" he answered his father without ever turning around.

Isshin grinned at his son's back. "Alright Karin, let's head home. Come, jump into daddy's arms and let him carry his darling...oof"

Karin landed a hit to his jaw when he began his rant. "Ain't happening old man. Come on before I leave you. And don't try and make me talk to you. I don't want people thinking I'm crazy."

-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-

It was dark when Orihime woke up again. She sat up slowly, noting the pain her body was still in. She looked around and saw the familiar items of her bedroom. Her torn, bloody shirt was still on her so at least whoever had moved her had not undressed her.

She had to steady herself as she got out of bed and took careful, measured steps to the door. Once again she felt his heavy reiatsu cloaking her apartment.

"Inoue, what are you doing out of bed? You shouldn't be moving around so much."

Kurosaki-kun was at her side the moment she tried to step out of her room. Now that she was awake fully she could take her time to look at him. Unfortunately the first thing she noticed was his shinigami robes.

"Kurosaki-kun...you got your powers back?"

"Um...yeah. Apparently they had been slowly returning but I got them back fully today." he ran his hand along the back of his neck as he spoke to her.

Her grey eyes widened at his words. She looked upset and suddenly he wished he would have kept his mouth shut. She may be a little ditsy but she was still one of the most intelligent people he knew. He should have known it wouldn't take any more than that for her to figure out what he meant.

"You...you were beside me in the Soten Kisshun. Please, please don't tell me I did this to you." tears gathered in her eyes.

"Hey don't worry about it! I told you they were already coming back." his words fell on deaf ears. Orihime had begun crying, hard, the moment he confirmed it.

How could she do that to him? He would hate her now, she just knew he would. He had been happy! His normal life he had always wanted had been taken away again and this time not by his choice...and it was all her fault.

She would have fallen to the ground if Ichigo and not wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Her sobs were heavy and every one made his gut clench.

"Inoue." she didn't respond. "Inoue, please quit crying."

"I'm sorry...I'm s-s-orry Kurosaki-kun. I didn't mean to. Please...p-please don't hate me." she choked out through her sobs.

He was confused again. Why would he hate her? Not that he ever could hate her. Inoue was the most gentle person he had ever met. There was nothing she could ever do to make him hate her.

"Inoue, calm down. Please." he sighed and took the girl in his arms. He could feel her tears soaking into his top. He didn't know what else to do. He had never been one to comfort anybody. Karin had never cried again after their mothers death and his old man had always cheered Yuzu up by being his usual goofy self. Almost of their own will, his hands began rubbing her back gently. He didn't know why he did it but the action seemed to be what Inoue needed. Almost immediately her crying lessened until finally it stopped.

"Inoue. I could never hate you." he spoke softly into the top of her hair. "I told you my powers had already begun to come back. You just sped the process along. Think of it as payback. I origonally did the same thing to you didn't I?"

"Are you sure you're not mad at me? I know you were happy being normal and I...I never wanted to make you unhappy Kurosaki-kun."

Ichigo pulled back enough from Inoue that he could look into her beautiful, grey eyes. _Beautiful? Where the hell did that come from? _"I have never been normal Inoue. This is who I am and I should not have been so quick to throw it away. Truth is I was getting bored." he smirked at her and was rewarded by a small smile from her. "Besides, I can't be happy if it means I can't protect you."

Orihime's stomach began fluttering wildly at his words. She was standing in his arms and he was smiling down at her. Well, as much smiling as he could do. She had to almost physically restrain herself from reaching up and kissing him.

_He didn't mean it like that Orihime! Get a grip on yourself. Kurosaki-kun wants to protect all his friends. It didn't mean anything special to you._

She told herself that but deep inside she would hold his words close. They would be what she used to chase the nightmares away.

"Better now?" he asked.

She wiped the remaining tears from her face. "Yes, thank you."

She smiled at him and he felt an unfamiliar feeling begin in the pit of his stomach. He stepped back from her a bit but kept his hands on her shoulders to balance her. The feeling lessened.

"So, what do you want first? Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

She bowed her head and tried to hide the blush that stained her cheeks. "Actually, I would like to take a shower first."

"Are you sure you're strong enough to do that?" he asked.

She pumped her fist into the air enthusiastically. "Of course Kurosaki-kun! I'm very resilent you know."

"Yeah, well try not to push yourself too hard okay." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her towards her bathroom.

If possible, her blush deepened. "Wha...What are you doing Kurosaki-kun?"

"Huh? I'm gonna help you to the bathroom. You can say you're fine all day long but that was a life-threatening injury you had and I know you don't have all your strength back yet. I'm not gonna let you wear yourself out."

"Thank you Kurosaki-kun, you're so kind." her timid voice relied.

Her words caused him to blush and he looked away. "Don't worry about it."

He led her into the bathroom and slowly took his arm from her shoulders. He looked down at her face to speak only to realize how close they were standing. Her bathroom was small and with both of them in there the space tightened even further. He couldn't fight the blush that stained his cheeks again. He backed away from her quickly.

"S-so...you've got this right?" his hand came to the back of his neck again and he looked anywhere but at her.

"Yes, I'm fine Kurosaki-kun. Thank you for your help."

He looked at her only to find her gazing at him with an expression he had never before seen on her face. Her eyes were softened, her normal bright smile was smaller but filled with more emotion, one he couldn't place immediately. Whatever it was caused that same feeling to flare up inside him once again and made him panic a little.

"Okay then. I'll see you in a few." he backed out of the door and closed it softly behind him.

Orihime watched the door for a moment before turning the shower on. She sighed softly as she removed her now ruined clothing. As the warm water beat down on her she smiled. Everytime she was with Kurosaki-kun he did something to make her fall in love with him a little more.

Ichigo sat on Orihime's couch listening to the sound of her shower running. He had tried, without success, to figure out what that feeling was he had had whenever he looked at her. It was something he had never felt before so he had nothing to base it on.

_**"Why do I have to be horse to such a dumb ass king! Do I have to beat your head in everytime to get you to listen to your instincts?"**_

Ichigo smirked and closed his eyes, meditating until he got to his inner mind. When he opened his eyes he was once again in his sideways world standing across from his hollow.

"Don't think I forgot about you." Ichigo taunted before running at his hollow. The familiar clash of swords was like music to his ears.

* * *

By the time Inoue got out of the shower Ichigo had finished thoroughly kicking his hollows ass and had put himself back into his body. He was sitting on her couch (a new purchase he had heard from Tatsuki) with two bowls of soup in front of him.

He watched as Inoue slowly made her way to the couch. Her movement was slow and jerky. He knew her pain must still be intense. Damp auburn locks hung over her shoulder, a few stray droplets landing on her blue tank top she wore. Her plaid pajama pants fit snug on her hips and Ichigo looked away as she approached. He was disgusted with himself. He had caught himself appreciating her form as she approached. She was his friend, someone who trusted him, and on top of everything she was hurt! He had never felt more ashamed of himself.

_**"Wow, can you be more of a pansy ass? So you were checking out a beautiful chick? Get over it. Hell at least one part of your instincts are intact. I was starting to think you would never notice those big ass tits on her..."**_

_"Shut the fuck up! Never, and I mean never speak about her that way again!"_

_**"Or what? What the fuck are you gonna do about it? I have to see what you see dumbass! If you look at her tits so do I!"**_

_"I know that! Don't worry it's not gonna happen again, but you are not going to disrespect her like that. Did you forget so quick that I just whipped your ass in there?"_

"Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo looked up and found Inoue standing in front of him with a very hesitant look in her eyes. He shook off the remaining anger at his hollow. "Hey Inoue. Sit down, I made you some soup while you were in the shower."

She eased herself onto the couch and grabbed the soup he had placed in front of her. "Thank you so much Kurosaki-kun. Are you okay though?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Your reaitsu was getting really heavy for a moment. What were you so mad about?"

He averted his gaze while he answered. "Sorry 'bout that. My hollow was just pissing me off."

She stopped eating and looked at him. "Oh, he's back too? Is he okay?"

Eyes wide with shock locked with hers. "Why would you even ask about him?"

Her head dropped and her voice became nothing more than a whisper as she answered. "I'm sorry Kurosaki-kun, if that was an inappropriate question. It's just that...well...he's a part of you and even though you've had to struggle to keep him from taking over, he ...he was able to help you when I couldn't. I accept him because he's a part of you but I'm glad he's there because...well, because he's the reason you're still here."

Ichigo sat there, staring at her lowered head, mouth still hanging open at her words. Even his hollow was silent. No one ever even wanted to speak about his hollow out loud but he still could tell how they felt about it. They were scared. Everyone worried the power would overtake him one day. He knew they were all justified in it. It had taken him over before and Ishida had almost been killed by it. Inoue...she had seen it; seen him fully hollow and she...accepted it? How big could this girls heart possibly be?

"But...when you first saw my mask, you were scared. You were scared of me."

She looked back at him with that smile on her face. "I'm sorry about that. I was scared, at first. I didn't know what power you were using, your reiatsu felt so dark and your eyes..." she sighed and leaned back into the couch, "I just felt like you couldn't see me anymore. It reminded me of when Sora attacked me. That's why I was afraid. Then I realized that you were still in control. You weren't just throwing away everything for power. I know that your hollow is a part of you, it always will be but that's okay. Does he always hear everything you do?"

He couldn't even open his mouth to speak, he nodded to her instead.

"Good. In that case hollow-san, thank you so much for saving Kurosaki-kun's life. Oh and for saving me as well. I'm sorry if that sounded like that I was appreciative because I am, I really, really am, it's just that...I'm so happy you saved Kurosaki-kun's life. I couldn't do anything then and if it hadn't been for you...well...anyway. Thank you!"

Kurosaki-kun hadn't moved during her rant. She hadn't meant to ramble like she did but sometimes her mouth starting working faster than her brain. He sat watching her with the most astonished look on his face.

She started to get nervous under his stare. She could feel the blush trying to work itself on her face. Just when she was about to stammer out an apology and leave his face relaxed and his eyes softened. His hand grabbed hers in a gentle grip.

"Inoue, thank you."

She squeezed his hand, "You have no need to thank me but your welcome anyway Kurosaki-kun." she held his gentle gaze for a moment before a yawn caught her by surprise. "I'm sorry. I guess I am still quite tired. Thank you so much for making me dinner, it was delicious, but I'm going to go back to bed. I think after I sleep tonight I'll heal myself fully in the morning."

"Do that. Can you make it okay?"

She gingerly got off the couch. "I'll be fine thank you. Tell your father thank you for me as well when you get home."

"That'll have to wait til tomorrow then." he replied.

"Huh? What...what do you mean tomorrow?"

He gathered their bowls and took them to her kitchen. She followed him and noticed there was no sign of the blood that had been covering her floors. Ichigo noticed her gaze. "I cleaned it up while you were asleep. And I mean I'm staying here tonight. You're still in no condition to protect yourself if another attack happens."

Her face turned impossibly red. "But...b-but you don't have to do that Kurosaki-kun. I'll be alright, I don't want to burden you with anything. I promise I'll..."

Ichigo interrupted her. "Save it Inoue. I'm staying. Now weren't you going to bed?"

She tried to argue further, "but.."

"But nothing, go rest and regain your strength. I want you to be able to fully heal yourself in the morning." he put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her towards the door.

"Okay. Thank you Kurosaki-kun."

"Stop thanking me Inoue. Go to bed."

She looked at him over her shoulder. "You really are so kind."

He blushed at her words and turned his face away. Before he could answer her she had already went into her bedroom.

She leaned back against the door and tried to calm her beating heart. How was she supposed to sleep knowing Kurosaki-kun was sharing her apartment for the night?

He sat back down on the couch and replayed their earlier conversation in his head. He still couldn't get over the fact that she accepted his hollow, even went so far as to speak to him personally.

He replayed the words over and over again in his mind. Everytime he did his smile got a little bigger. She had not only stunned him but his hollow as well who couldn't seem to even form a proper sentence after hearing her. He had only said one word after she had made her little speech.

_**"Damn."**_


	4. Chapter 4

I hope you are enjoying the story! Thank you for the reviews and the favorites and story alerts. Please keep reading! Reviews are always welcome!

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"Good morning Orihime-chan!"

When Ichigo answered the door to Inoue's apartment that morning he was not expecting his father, who promptly pushed him aside and ran to Orihime. She was sitting on the couch having Shuno and Ayame finish healing her.

"Good morning Kurosaki-san. How are you today?"

"I'm wonderful but I should be asking you that my dear. How are you feeling this morning?"

She dispelled her technique and Shuno and Ayame returned to their place in her hairpins. "I'm fine thank you. I just finished up healing my other injuries and I'm ready to go now." she replied enthusiastically.

"She's good now so move it old man, we've got to get going if we are going to be on time for school." Ichigo grabbed his book bag and headed for the door.

"You go on ahead Ichigo. Orihime-chan, I want you to come back to my clinic with me and let me examine you." Isshin replied.

"That's really not necessary Kurosaki-san." Orihime was waving her hands in front her trying to dissuade the doctor. "I'm really feeling fine now."

"I'm afraid I'm going to insist Orihime-chan. It's not that I don't trust your powers but you nearly died yesterday." She lowered her head at this and Ichigo's normal scowl grew more prominent. "I would really feel a lot better if you would let me take a look at you."

"She already said that's not necessary old man!"

She turned towards the now angry teen. "Kurosaki-kun, it's okay. He's right. What would it hurt anyway?"

He studied her face for a moment. Ichigo knew she tried to do anything to please people but she didn't seem to be very much against the idea so he relented. "Alright, I'll see you at school then."

"Thank you Kurosaki-kun."

"Don't worry my boy!" he clapped his son on the shoulder. "I'll escort your beautiful friend to school when I'm done. She won't be in danger."

"You damn well better old man." he narrowed his eyes to his father letting him know without words that if something happened to her he would be in a world of pain.

Isshins' grin only widened at his son's threats. He lowered his voice so that only Ichigo could hear. "Oh don't worry. I wouldn't let something happen to someone who is obviously so important to you. You didn't get a head start on those grandchildren I suppo..."

Ichigo cut off his fathers statement with a strong punch to his jaw that sent the older shinigami flying into the wall.

"Kurosaki-san!"

"Don't worry about that old pervert Inoue." he opened her door and went to leave. "Be careful okay?"

She smiled at him and his heartbeat increased. "I will. Thank you Kurosaki-kun."

"I-I'll see you at school." he shut the door behind him and raced off.

_"What the hell is up with me?"_

_

* * *

_

"Well, I have to say I am beyond impressed Orihime-chan. Absolutely everything checks out. Your healing powers are amazing." Isshin said as he returned his equipment to his bag.

Orihime 's smile was very wide as she thank him for his compliments.

"There is one thing that I think we do need to talk about though."

"Oh? What's that Kurosaki-san?"

Isshin turned to her and though his tone was gentle she could tell he was very serious. "Forgive my daughter but she only worries about you. When we got home last night Karin told me you've been having nightmares ever since you've been back."

Orihime paled a bit under his gaze. She was surprised Karin had told her father about her nightmares but she wasn't mad at the girl. She knew she was just worried about her.

"Yes, I have been."

"Orihime-chan, you need to discuss this with somebody. I won't even begin to speculate what you went through when you were there but I know it wasn't pleasant and it was something you should have never had to go through. Everybody needs a way to deal with these things. I don't imagine you'd be the kind of person who'd need to go drinking or fighting for a night to open up about everything."

She had to giggle at the image. If Rangiku-san had heard that she was sure she would have her in a bar with a bottle of sake in no time. "No Kurosaki-san, I'm not a drinker nor do I like the thought of fighting just for the sake of fighting."

He smiled at her. "I didn't think so. In that case you really need to talk with someone about your nightmares. Sometimes just talking about them, and the feelings that are making you have them is enough."

"Thank you Kurosaki-san. I will think about it seriously." she slid off the exam table and grabbed her bag. "Everyone in this family is so kind."

He scoffed at her statement. "Everyone? Did you forget that orange haired kid of mine?"

She laughed again. "Kurosaki-kun is very kind. He just has a different way of showing it."

Isshin laughed at that. "Well I'm glad you are able to see it Orihime-chan. Come on, I'll walk you to school. You'll probably be on time for third period."

"That's really not necessary Kurosaki-san."

"Don't worry about it." He ushered her out of the door and fell in step beside her. "I have a meeting with someone near your school shortly anyway. Plus, I'd hate to give Ichigo a reason to lay into me. You know, that kid can hit. I think I trained him too well." he looked over at her when she laughed again. She was smiling but he could see the hesitation in her face. "Orihime-chan, what is it?"

She glanced over at the older man. "There's something I would like to ask you but I'm afraid it would be too personal and you would think I was rude."

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?"

"Umm..well, I was wondering what...what your wife was like." she kept her eyes on the ground as she asked.

"That could never be a rude question Orihime-chan. If there's something I never get tired of talking about it's my lovely wife Masaki." he said.

"Yes she was. I've seen her picture in your house a few times."

"She was so beautiful, both inside and out. A woman totally devoted to her family. Our children were her life. She made every day special and made sure each one of them knew how much she loved them." he paused as they passed a couple walking towards them. "Why did you ask?"

"Oh well, I just...I had been thinking about it for a while. When I saw you for the first time in your shinigami robes I saw the captains haori over your left shoulder. I know that Urahara-san and Shinji-kun were thrown out of Soul Society but they never wear their robes." Isshin had raised his eyebrows at her speech but did not interrupt her. "Also, when I found out that you had known about Kurosaki-kun becoming a shinigami and going to Soul Society and you never said anything to him about it or tried to stop it I thought maybe you weren't upset with Soul Society like they were. I came up with a theory. Kurosaki-san," she turned to look at him fully, "did you leave Soul Society for Masaki-san?"

Isshin regarded her as she awaited his answer. Never would he have thought this girl...

"Yes I did." she didn't say anything but continued to watch him. He sighed. "I met her when I came down one night because of a menos that was trying to cross into this world. I couldn't believe she could see me. She never asked what I was though. After she watched me destroy the menos she thanked me and went on her way. I was beyond shocked. This human woman had just watched me destroy something that I assumed she had never seen before, watched me pull out my zanpakto and release my reiatsu and she never asked me a single question! I came to the human world a few more times after that. I had to start getting creative with my reasons. Soul Society just doesn't let captains run around willy-nilly ya know."

She laughed at that and they crossed the street before he continued. "I met up with her each time. She still never asked what I was nor where I was coming from but...she was so trusting of me. We would talk for hours about everything and nothing at all. I think I fell in love with her the first time I met her. Being with Masaki was the only thing I looked forward to anymore. Of course, it was a problem for me. She was a human and couldn't go to Soul Society and shinigami's weren't supposed to mingle with humans. My decision was easy though. Urahara had left Soul Society about a year before that; I found him easily enough and asked him for a special gigai I knew he had been working on. I got the gigai, met up with Masaki and told her I would be staying around. It was another year before we married."

Isshin stopped walking as they reached the gates of school and turned to look at Orihime. He found she had tears rolling down her face. "What is it Orihime-chan?"

"I-I'm sorry. It's just that...that..."she was trying to speak through her tears, "That was the most beautiful, most romantic story I've ever heard!"

Isshin couldn't help but embrace the beauty and soon he was crying dramatically right along with her. "I knew you would think so as well! Oh Masaki I will soon introduce our newest family member to you!"

Orihime was confused by his statement but couldn't help but smile at his dramatic speech. She was slowly getting used to Kurosaki Isshin. He liked to be a kind of over the top person but he was thoughtful of other people's feelings and was definetly more observant than he let on. The pair continued to hold each other as they calmed down, unaware of the stares they were receiving through the windows.

"Thank you so much for sharing that with me Kurosaki-san."

"Your welcome Orihime-chan. I'm glad to have shared it with someone who truly appreciated the beauty of my love." his large goofy grin was once again plastered on his face. "Have a good day at school and you know you can always come over to the house to tutor Karin."

"Thank you but I think Karin said she had a reason for wanting to come to my place."

"She probably said something about me didn't she?" he crossed his arms over his chest and placed a pout on his face.

The school bell rang saving Orihime fron having to try and answer his, correct, observation.

"I've gotta get going. Thank you so much again Kurosaki-san." she waved over her shoulder as she ran for the building.

Isshin smiled as the beauty left his sight. _Such a wonderful, sweet girl. Ichigo better pull his head out of his ass soon._

_

* * *

_

"Yo, Kurosaki! Since when did Inoue-chan and your dad get to be so close?"

Ichigo turned to look at the student, whose name he couldn't remember, but that wasn't anything new for him. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Well, it's just that me and a bunch of other people saw them in front of the school gates hugging each other. It looked like she had been crying as well."

Ichigo mentally cursed before running off to find Inoue. Knowing his old man there was no telling what he had said to her.

Orihime was trying to discreetly wipe away her remaining tears while heading for the bathroom next to her locker. Thankfully, she had arrived to school just as lunch time came so she had plenty of time to compose herself before class.

"Oh, Inoue-chan, what happened?"

"Who could have possibly upset our lovely Inoue-san?"

Orihime looked up to find two boys from the class below her giving her sympathetic looks. They were nice guys even if they tended to bother her a bit too much. "No, it's nothing you guys I'm fine."

One of the boys handed her a tissue. "Nonsense Inoue-chan, why don't you tell me all about it and let me comfort you." he went to place his arm around her shoulders but was stopped by a rough hand gripping his wrist.

Both boys whipped around to find a very pissed off Kurosaki Ichigo staring them down with murder in his eyes. They were afraid they had just shortened their life span considerably.

"And just what exactly were you going to do?" he asked not caring at all that he had the attention of the students who had filed into the hallway.

"N-n-nothing Kurosaki-san."

"We were just leaving." the other replied before grabbing his friend's hand and scurrying down the hallway.

Ichigo only watched them for a moment before grabbing Inoue's hand and pulling her along behind him. "Come on Inoue."

Orihime couldn't stop her blush. People were looking at them as he gently but firmly pulled her along the hallway. "Where are we going Kurosaki-kun?"

He didn't answer but continued on until they were standing in an empty corridor. He released her hand and turned to look at her. "What did my dumbass old man do?"

Her confusion showed on her face. "Huh?'

"I know he had you crying in front of the school so what did he do?"

Orihime smiled gently before using the tissue one of the boys gave her to dry her eyes. "It's nothing like that Kurosaki-kun. He simply told me how...he just told me a beautiful story and I got over emotional. That's all."

Ichigo watched her for a moment. He caught where she had changed her story in mid sentence; he wouldn't put it past his father to have, even inadvertently, said something to upset the gentle woman. She obviously didn't want to tell him but he was going to know one way or another. "What was the story?"

"Eh?" she squealed.

"What was the story about Inoue?" he asked again.

"Oh...it wasn't anything..." she began.

"Inoue." his voice and look were both stern causing the healer to gasp.

She knew that determined look of his, having it turned on her though, she now could appreciate some of what his enemies went through. "Okay," she let out a sigh. "It's just that he was telling me how he met your mother."

That was the last thing Ichigo had expected to come out of her mouth. "Really?" he said for lack of anything better to say. Wait, he had heard that story before, he may not be the most sensitive guy around but he really didn't see anything overly romantic about that story. "Are you sure that's what you were talking about?" his skepticisim apparent in his voice.

"It's true! Well, I kinda asked him about it. I hope you don't mind."

"No it's fine it's just that I've heard him tell the story to Yuzu before, about them meeting when she was walking home from work and then how they kept meeting up after that and talking. They just kinda hit it off. It's doesn't sound like the kind of story to make you cry like that."

_Wow, he and his dad really don't talk at all do they? _

"The story is true it's just that he left something out."

"What?"

She didn't answer but looked to his shinigami badge instead. He followed her gaze and the answer was slow coming to him.

"Wait, you don't mean..."

A slow, soft smile graced her features.

"He..." he looked around them to make sure they were still alone. "He left Soul Society for mom?"

She confirmed his answer and he felt a new found respect for his goofy father.

"See, I told you it was the most romantic story I had ever heard." Tears had gathered in her eyes once more. She dabbed them away once again. "I'm sorry if I offended you by talking with your father about that."

"It's okay. I just never thought about it myself." he and his father never really talked about his shinigami status. He had never asked any questions about it. Like he had told his father when he found out, he just didn't know how to ask the questions without offending him in some way. No matter his reason, Ichigo knew that the discussion would, in some way, wind up being a heated one.

He pulled himself from his thoughts. "Come on Inoue. We need to talk to Chad and Ishida. They need to know whats going on."

Her expression turned serious as she followed him. "Yes we do. I almost hate to do it."

He let out a long sigh, "I know what you mean."

* * *

"Kurosaki, it's about time you showed up. Get over here." Ishida said as the pair got to the roof.

Ichigo ignored the frantic Quincy as he nodded to Chad who already sat on the ground. "We need to talk guys."

"Your right we most definitely do." Ishida pushed his glasses higher on his nose. "You need to explain a few things to us. I felt a horrible reiatsu yesterday but just as I was going to investigate it, it disappeared. Later on I felt what I knew was your reiatsu but I knew that couldn't be possible. However it never disappeared. Seeing you now only confirms that."

Ichigo mentally sighed. He should have known Ishida would have already been aware of some things. Damn Qunicy was too smart.

"I went by your house this morning to talk to you on the way to school but you weren't there." Chad stated.

"Sorry about that. I was at Inoue's." his statement caused his two friends to gape at him. "Oi, don't look at me like that! That's part of what we need to discuss."

Ishida cleared his throat and pushed at his glasses again. "I'll be alright without openly discussing that part of your life with you Kurosaki."

Both teens blushed furiously at Ishida's poorly vield comment. "Shut the hell up Ishida!"

"Make me Kurosaki." Both guys were now standing nose to nose and Orihime worried that a fight would insue. After Hueco Mundo, Ishida had gotten more aggressive.

"Guys please calm down." they both backed off at her request. "We need to talk about the reiatsu you felt last night."

"Did something happen Inoue?" Chad asked.

Ishida and Chad watched their companion's hands grasp her skirt before she smiled at them assuring them that everything was okay.

Ichigo simply scoffed, "Yeah, now she is."

Chad couldn't help but note the concern that laced his friends voice and eyes as he watched Inoue. He had known Ichigo for years and was able to read him well. Something bad had happened. "Ichigo, your reiatsu?"

"Yeah, I've got it back." he replied.

"Well, it does seem we have much to discuss." Ishida commented.

"I think we should wait til after school. Perhaps we could talk at Urahara-san's shop." Orihime suggested.

The implication of that was not missed by Ishida and Chad. They looked at each other a moment before responding.

"Alright Inoue-san. We'll meet you there after school."

* * *

"Oh my! What a pleasant surprise this is! So many old faces have graced my humble home." the shopkeeper said as he waved his fan in front of his face.

Ichigo stepped into his shop with his normal scowl present. "Save it Urahara-san. I'm sure you know why we're here."

Urahara Kisuke lowered his fan and led the group inside. "That I do Kurosaki-san. Tessai, some snacks for our guest please. We'll be inside."

"Of course. Inoue-dono, it's so lovely to see you again. I have a fresh batch of red-bean muffins I think you'll love." Tessai grabbed her hands in his.

Her face lit up at the promise of her favorite treat, "I'm so glad to see you again Tessai-san and you know I can't resist your cooking!"

Ichigo watched as she and Tessai talked for a moment more. She had been genuinely smiling and laughing on the way over. Even more so now talking to the shop owner and his workers who he didn't think she had seen since Aizen's capture. Her happiness was almost contagious, regardless of their less than pleasant reasons for coming.

Everyone took a seat around the table and waited as Tessai served muffins and tea.

"Well, let's begin this shall we." Urahara said. He took his cane and hit Ichigo on the forehead, prompting his soul to seperate from his body.

"What the hell man! You could have at least warned me! Now my face has muffin all over it."

Chad and Ishida ignored his rant and simply studied their friend's now soul-less body draped over the table. Ichigo, in his shinigami form, stalked around the room ranting at Urahara.

"I knew it but seeing it again is just shocking." Ishida finally commented.

"You're acting as if this is the first time you've seen me as a shinigami." Ichigo said, finally calming down. He moved his body to the corner and resumed his seat.

"It's been a while and the change was overnight, give me a break Kurosaki."

"Yes, this has happened extremely fast. Can you tell me what transpired to cause this Kurosaki-san?" Urahara had his fan up again.

The group listened intently as Ichigo and Orihime described what happened with the new Arrancar and his regaining his powers. No one spoke until they were finished. They had spared no detail, not bothering to talk about their discussion concerning his hollow, but that was private between them; but Ichigo had skimmed over Inoue's wounds, telling them only that she had been injured. He didn't really want to think about it again. Saying it aloud would only make the memory real again for him.

Ishida, however, seemed to catch his hesitation at that part.

"Inoue-san, how badly were you hurt?"

Orihime looked at Ishida. She didn't want to be rude but she could feel the tension rise in Kurosaki-kun at the question. She didn't bother to add her input when he had been describing her injuries. She could tell talking about it made him mad. Her heart swelled a bit at the knowledge but she forced it down. He cared about all his friends and he would be upset if any of them were hurt.

"It doesn't matter Ishida-kun. I'm fine now." she avoided the question.

"Inoue-dono, was it truly that bad?" Tessai asked.

"Are you sure your okay?" same from Chad.

"Were you really that.."

Ichigo's fist banging on the table stopped the questions. "It doesn't matter 'cause it won't ever happen again." he ignored the shocked look of the other males.

_**"Damn straight it won't. We'll kill anybody who goes near our bitch."**_

Once again Ichigo ignored his hollow. He had been speaking too informally of Inoue lately but he couldn't deny that he agreed with most of the over-protective statements his hollow made.

Urahara cleared his throat and the tension around the table receded. "Of course Kurosaki-san. Well, be careful going home everyone and I will see what I can find out regarding this new situation. Let me say though, it is good to have you back Kurosaki-san."

"Thanks. Come on Inoue. I'll walk you home."

"It's okay Kurosaki-kun you don't have to do that." she tried to protest with a small blush.

"Inoue."

She sighed. She was getting used to that stubborn look of his. It meant no matter what she said or did he was going to get his way. She got up and followed him outside.

Chad looked over at Ishida. "Did he just growl at her?"

"I think so. Well, that's another new development they didn't tell us about."

"I don't think Ichigo even recognizes that one himself."


	5. Chapter 5

Orihime

smiled into her mirror as she got ready for school. The past few days had been fun for her even if they were once again under the threat of attack from Arrancar.

Their group of friends had met up at Urahara's shop a few more times but none of them had really had anything new to add to the situtation. Regardless, Orihime enjoyed spending time with them.

Urahara had even suggested they go into his large underground area and train a bit with each other since it had been a while since they worked together. Kurosaki-kun and Ishida-kun had been a little too happy at the thought of attacking each other. The spar had went well though, and she had a few injuries to heal when they were finished.

She smiled even wider at the thought of Kurosaki-kun. Everytime they left Urahara-san's shop at night, he would walk her home. She had tried several times to ensure him that she would be okay by herself but she finally gave up on that after he began refusing to even listen to her protests. Sado-kun and Ishida-kun gave her surprised looks the first night but after that they just nodded with understanding when Ichigo patiently waited for her to finish talking with Tessai-san each time.

As she sat her hair-brush down she sighed. She was trying very hard to keep her feelings in check. Kurosaki-kun was protective of all his friends. She kept reminding herself of that before she read to much into his actions. She loved him so much but she would never do anything to make him feel uncomfortable or to ruin their friendship; but, sometimes, he would look at her just so and she thought she might still have a glimmer of hope.

A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts; her best friend stood on the other side.

"Tatsuki-chan! When did you get back? How was the competition?" she asked as she hugged her friend.

The karate champ went into the apartment and sat on the couch. "Last night and it went good. I won of course. So, what's been going on Orihime?" she definitely wasn't expecting her friend to visibly start at the question and turn away from her.

"Oh, nothing much Tatsuki-chan."

"Orihime." the red-head turned to face her. "What did we promise each other?"

Orihime sighed and sat on the couch with her friend. After Aizen had been captured and they waited for Kurosaki-kun to wake up, Orihime and Tatsuki-chan had talked for a long time about everything that happened. When they finished, they promised each other they were never hide anything from each other again. Tatsuki-chan could see the hollows and shinigami so keeping something from her was useless. Plus, Orihime hated lying to her friend.

"I know. It's just...you're not going to like this." Orihime went ahead and told her everything that had happened. She knew better than to try and down play her injuries as well; she would know she was lying.

Tatsuki had her enveloped in a hug before she could even finish speaking.

"Tatsuki-chan?"

"Damn," she said, "it looks like I owe that idiot again. You're right, I hate this Orihime. I can't do anything to help you. I have no power what so ever against these things."

"I know but it's okay. Sado-kun and Ishida-kun and Kurosaki-kun are with me, we'll be okay."

"I know he may hate it but if those bastards are back than I'm very, very happy that he got his powers back."

Orihime smiled at her best friend. "He's not unhappy about it. What he told me was that this was what normal was for him. I think he enjoyed the break but he's okay with having his powers back. I tried to think of it this way, if he didn't have his powers right now with more Arrancar coming back, how would he react?"

Tatsuki-chan laughed. "He would be working his ass off trying to find a way to get them back." she gave her friend a long, hard look. "Are you sure you're okay? It sounds like I damn near lost you this time. You've got to stop doing this to me Orihime." tears gathered in her eyes and she hugged her friend again to try and hide them. Unfortunately, for her, her voice cracked as she spoke. "I don't know what I would do without you. You're my best friend! You can't get hurt like that anymore!" she gave up and allowed her sobs to overtake her.

Orihime was crying just as hard onto her friends shoulder. Just knowing that she had someone like Tatsuki-chan, someone who cared about her, cared if she got hurt, touched her so deeply. After her brother died she was left all alone in life. She was bullied everyday but she didn't have the confidence to stand up to any of them. Tatsuki-chan gave her her confidence back. They supported each other; and both would give everything for one another.

They stayed with their arms around each other for a long time. Finally Tatsuki drew back and smiled weakly at Orihime. "We're skipping school today. We've got a lot to talk about and I've missed hanging out with you."

"Sounds good to me Tatsuki-chan. Let me go change back into some pj's and I'll get you a spare too. We'll just lounge around today!"

"That works!" she waited until Orihime was about to walk into her room. "So, tell me more about Ichigo walking you home. You been doing something I should know about?" she laughed as her friend promptly ran into the wall.

* * *

Ichigo was tapping his foot impatiently under his desk. Class had started 15 minutes ago and Orihime was still not there. _What the hell is she doing? I can feel her reiatsu so I know she's still here at least, but it's all over the chart. Like she's excited or something._

_**"Or like she's worried or struggling or fighting you stupid fuck! Get your ass over there! What if she's hurt!"**_

_"You know, you've gotten way more protective of Inoue lately. Since when did you give a shit about anybody but yourself?"_

_**"Are you really gonna sit here and ask me this shit now when she could be dying again? Get moving you bastard or do I need to do it for you?"**_

_"Oh fuck off I'm going!"_

Ichigo raced out of the room giving his teacher an excuse about going to the nurse. He ran outside and used his badge to pull his shinigami form out. Laying his body behind a patch of thick bushes he used shunpo to rush towards her apartment.

* * *

"Tatsuki-chan! I can't believe you!" Orihime laughed loudly.

"Oh believe it! What was I supposed to do huh? The guy was trying to put his hands on me. Who the hell did he think he was?"

Orihime continued laughing. "Still, you hit him in his...well, you know. And in front of everyone!"

Tatsuki turned her glance onto her friend. "Yeah, well from what you told me Ichigo wouldn't even let that guy put his hand on your shoulder." she laughed at Orihime's now very red face. "I guess I can rest easy when I'm away and trust him to protect your body as well." a large grin split her face as Orihime began stuttering badly.

"B-b-but Tatsuki-chan! It's n-not like that!" both girls laughed until a large bang caught there attention.

"Inoue!" Ichigo came bursting in through her door, Zangetsu in hand, looking wildly around for any intruders.

The girls sat stunned on the couch, staring at Ichigo.

He slowly lowered Zangetsu as he locked gazes with Inoue and found her un-harmed.

"W..what are you doing Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime finally managed to ask.

He watched her eyes for a moment, just happy that she wasn't in trouble, until his short temper activated. "What are **you **doing Inoue?"

"Huh?"

"Class started almost 20 minutes ago. You never miss class! I thought you were hurt or in trouble!"

Orihime began to feel bad. He was right, she never missed class and now she had un-necessarily worried him. "I'm so sorry Kurosaki-kun. It's just that Tatsuki-chan came over this morning and we started talking and we hadn't seen each other in days and so much has happened that we had to talk about and then we both got emotional and decided we needed a day off so we could catch up with each other and we..."

Ichigo held up his hand to stop her rambling. "It's okay Inoue. Just...do me a favor and let me know if you won't be at school okay? Don't worry me like that."

Tatsuki's mind was having a very hard time processing what was going on in front of her. Did Ichigo just run from school and burst into Inoue's home because he was _worried _about her? He even yelled at her a little bit. She normally would have busted anyone in the face that raised their voice to Orihime but Ichigo had **never** done that to her. She could see just how much her unexpected absence had affected him. Wait a minute...was he looking at her like...

For the first time in her life Tatsuki gave in and did a happy dance and squealed like a pre-teen, in her head of course. Oh she was so going to tease Orihime about this!

"Ichigo." the orange haired shinigami turned to look at her. "Thank you for being so concerned for Orihime but as you can see she's perfectly fine. Now we were having a girls day if you don't mind."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at his childhood friend but strapped Zangetsu to his back anyway. "Yeah, yeah. I'm going."

"Kurosaki-kun, wait!" Orihime got up and ran to the door to stop him.

"What is it Inoue?"

She almost lost her nerve as he turned those intense brown eyes on her. Her body felt hotter than it did just a moment ago. "W-well, I just wanted to say thank you." he raised his eyebrow quizically at her. "I mean, for worrying about me. For running here from school just to make sure I was okay. It means a lot to me."

By the time she was finished her voice was nothing more than a whisper and a faint blush had decended on his cheeks; but he still couldn't make himself look away from her deep, expressive eyes.

He gave her one of his rare, small smiles and spoke just as softly to her. "Your welcome, Inoue." with that he left for school.

Orihime was light headed with happiness as she closed the door. She turned slowly and froze, she had forgotten all about Tatsuki-chan being there!

Tatsuki eyed her friend and started laughing at her expression. "Oh yeah, I'm still here and we are **so **not done talking!"

* * *

Ichigo stood up from the desk in his room and stretched his long, lean body. He had been doing homework for over an hour and was surprised no hollow had interrupted his work. He went to the kitchen in search of a snack before dinner.

His shoulder throbbed and he rubbed it as he searched the fridge. Unwittingly, he flushed as he thought of the reasons causing the fight that had resulted in his injury.

_Ichigo dashed into the bushes and got back into his body. After making sure no one was around he left the shrubbery for the rooftop. Chad and Ishida were waiting on him._

_"Kurosaki, we were about to go after you but I felt your reiatsu returning. Where did you rush off to? I never sensed a hollow's presence." Ishida asked in his usual smug manner._

_"There wasn't one. I just had to go check on Inoue since she skipped school."_

_Both men eyed the orange haired teen in disbelief._

_Sado broke the silence first. "Was she okay?"_

_"Yeah, she was okay. Tatsuki got back into town and the two of them are skipping to have a girl's day. Whatever that means."_

_"So you shunpoed out of here in shinigami form just to check on Inoue?" Ishida asked._

_Ichigo stared at the qunicy. He didn't like the arrogant tone in his voice._

_"Yeah, and?"_

_Ishida pushed at his glasses. "Oh it's just amazing to me how chivalrous you've become lately."_

_"And what is that supposed to mean?"_

_"Chivalrous? It means to be courteous, generous..."_

_"I know what the hell chivalry means!" Ichigo yelled._

_"It's just unexpected of someone with your usual brash nature. Since it __**is **__Inoue-san I suppose it makes since. Though it still astounds me that a brute such as yourself could act human even for her."_

_Ichigo clenched his fists and gave the quincy a death glare. "Ishida you're asking for it."_

_"Bring it Kurosaki." _

_"Calm down. Inoue was okay so why don't we go back to class." Sado stated. With the looks the two were passing back and forth he could tell a fight was about to erupt. _

_"Fine with me Sado-kun. I can't help it if someone around here acts like a worrying mother hen." _

_Ishida didn't even see Ichigo move until he was knocked to the ground. _

Ichigo was still disappointed that Chad had broken up the fight only a few minutes into it. That bastard quincy still deserved a few punches for calling him a mother hen. Could he help it if Inoue made him worry? She always had. The girl could just be so scattered brained sometimes and she didn't have anyone else to look out for her.

Besides, he had come so damn close to losing her this time. He simply couldn't let that happen again. If he had to follow her everywhere she went he was going to make sure she was safe. He stopped himself for a moment. He realized if someone could tell what he was thinking, they would have thought he was a stalker.

"Ichigo!" his father called from the living room. "Come here boy, you've got visitors."

He grumbled under his breath but made his way towards the living room anyway. The closer he got he though he could sense something familiar. A lot of familiar somethings.

He hurried around the corner and stopped, gaping at the sight before him.

"Rukia."

* * *

Orihime waved to a couple walking down the street as she made her way to the Kurosaki household. Karin had forgotten her notebook at her house the other day. She had intended to give it to Kurosaki-kun that morning at school, but since she had skipped with Tatsuki-chan she was now making the trip to return it.

She was still a bit flustered over Kurosaki-kun's appearance at her house that morning. Tatsuki-chan had teased her relentlessly after he had left. She didn't mind it though. Tatsuki-chan knew how much she loved him and was simply glad to have, as she put it "the dumb-ass", him returning her affections.

Orihime didn't want to get too hopeful and think of it that way. She knew he would do anything to protect his friends, and to fulfill his promises. He had sworn he would protect her and she knew he would do anything to uphold that. It was just another reason she loved him so much. So, she wouldn't read into his actions too much, but secretly she would smile as she went to sleep every night knowing he was watching out for her.

She looked up, surprised to find herself in front of the Kurosaki residence. She had zoned out again, thinking about everything. She was just glad this time she didn't run into anything or fall down again.

She rang the bell and waited patiently for the door to open.

"Ah! My lovely Orihime-chan. What brings you to my humble home this fine day?"

She laughed at Kurosaki-san's smiling face. He was so exuberant in everything he did she couldn't but to chuckle at him. "Good evening Kurosaki-san. I was just returning a notebook Karin-chan left at my house the other day."

He placed his hand at her back and gently ushered her inside. "Well come in my dear. I would never leave a beautiful woman standing on my doorstep. Ichigo is in the living room with some guests."

"No, no that's okay Kurosaki-san. I don't want to intude. You can just give this back to her when she comes home."

"Nonsense Orihime-chan. Besides, they are friends of yours as well." he kept his hand to her back as he guided her into the living room. That's why he noticed her stiffen immediately when they entered the room. Suddenly he felt like he had just done something extremely wrong.

Orihime couldn't help the shock she felt when she entered the room. Sitting on the couches and floors were some of their friends from Soul Society. Renji-kun, Ikkaku-san, and Yumichka-san were sitting on the floor around the table. Rangiku-san and Toshiro-kun were sitting on the couch near the wall. Kurosaki-kun was sitting on the other couch with Kuchiki-san next to him. He was...smiling, and laughing at something she had said.

Orihime felt something inside of her tear.

"Orihime-chan!" Rangiku-san said and bounded off the couch to run to her.

Orihime held up her hand to stop her.

She couldn't really describe what she was feeling at the moment; there were simply too many to process. She was happy to see everyone, happy to see they were okay. But another part of her, one she never acknowledged until she was at home alone, often during night time, was mad. Mad that they had never shown up after everything they had all been through together. A year and a half she had missed them, worried about them, wanted to contact them but had no way of doing so.

It seems they didn't want to.

She had fought right along side the rest of them. So had Ishida-kuna dn Sado-kun but the shinigami's didn't come to check on them after everything was over. However, the moment Kurosaki-kun got his powers back they all just showed up? How could they all be so callous? She went to Hueco Mundo, willingly, not just for Kurosaki-kun but for them as well; to save their lives. But it seems that didn't mean anything to them.

Or...did they...could they have possibly believed she had betrayed them?

She wasn't an idiot. Just because she was innocent didn't mean she was naive. She knew exactly what it would look like when she left for Hueco Mundo after she had written that letter to Toshiro-kun and Rangiku-san. She had even overheard Ulquiorra talk about it from her room.

But they had come for her. Didn't that mean they didn't think she had betrayed them?

It didn't matter, it hurt anyway. Rangiku-san, who she had spent a lot of time talking with, sharing her feelings with, hadn't come to see her. Kuchiki-san, who had encouraged her when no one else had, took her to Soul Society and trained her to get stronger, hadn't come to see her.

She could feel the tears burning her eyes and she knew she had to get out of there fast. For once in her life, she didn't care if she was going to sound rude or not.

Every shinigami in the room had watched on wide eyed as Orihime stopped Rangiku from coming to her. They had all expected her to jump into her arms laughing and babbling as usual, but none of that came. Instead, she had stood there, silent, head lowered so they couldn't see her face.

When she finally looked up there was only a slight smile on her face that was most definitely fake.

"Hello everyone. I'm glad to see you all are alright. I didn't mean to interrupt. I was simply returning something Karin-chan had forgotten at my house the other day. Now, if you'll excuse me." she turned to leave.

Rukia didn't understand why she was acting so upset with them. She wouldn't even look at her! "Inoue, wait! Come talk with us."

Orihime stopped only for a moment to look over her shoulder at them. "I'm sorry but no. I wouldn't want to interrupt a shinigami reunion." she made to leave once again. She barely turned her head to Kurosaki-san and whispered so only he could hear, "Please forgive my rudeness" and she left.

She started running the moment she was out of the house.

* * *

-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-

Everyone sat in stunned silence after the auburn haired beauty left. No one could believe that sweet, caring Inoue had just left after delivering that harsh statement to them.

Rangiku's cries soon pulled them from their trance.

"I didn't want to. I swear it wasn't my choice!" she cried.

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo asked.

"Not returning. For the first couple of months we just had so much to do in Soul Society. There were many still wounded and we had to re-build what had been destroyed. After everything settled down I wanted to come see Orihime but Captain commander forbade any of us from returning. He said we had interfered with the human world for too long and had disrupted your lives. He said we should leave you all alone now especially since all your reiatsu had been sealed. I argued that the rest of you still had your powers but he said they weren't shinigami powers and we had to let you all return to your lives. I never wanted to not see Orihime again!" she began crying again and couldn't continue talking.

"She thinks we abandoned her." Rukia said quietly from her position on the couch. She hadn't turned away from the spot Inoue had last been standing. "Especially now, after seeing us here when you just got your powers back." Rukia leaned back on the couch and a look of despair come over her face. Renji went to sit next to her and placed his arm around her shoulders. "She hates us."

"Don't be stupid." Ichigo said as he got up. "This is Inoue you're talking about. If she couldn't even hate the damn Espada that took her hostage there's no way she could hate her friends."

"Did you not see the look on her face Ichigo? Didn't you hear what she said?" Rukia fired back at him.

"Yeah I did. She's upset. She's hurt. And you are going to fix it."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Rangiku cried. "She doesn't even want to see us."

Ichigo turned back to look at them. "I don't care how you do it but you **will **fix this! She's put herself in danger for everyone of us in this room more times than I like to count and I'll be damned if she's gonna think that you all abandoned her. Besides, this is no time to be fighting. We've got to concentrate on these damn Arrancar running around." he paused to get his book bag and went towards the stairs to his room. He spoke to them again before he left. "Now get going. Oh, and if you hurt her even more I'm gonna kick all of your asses."

Hitsugaya Toshiro had not said anything during the exchange but he did raise his eyebrow at Ichigo's last statement. It seemed like more had changed around here than he previously thought.

_Since when has Kurosaki Ichigo became the voice of reason? But if he continues his disrespect I'm gonna have to hurt him. How many times must I tell him to address me as captain? _


	6. Chapter 6

Orihime didn't stop running until she was safely behind the door to her apartment. Tears continued to run down her face as she slumped to the floor. _How could they? How could they do that to me? To us?_

She held herself in the same position crying for what felt like hours. It hurt so bad to see the people she had counted as friends show up after so long because Kurosaki-kun had gotten his reiatsu back. So many times she had wanted to see them, wanted to make sure they were okay, but no matter how much she wanted to she wasn't able to.

Once, she had asked Urahara-san if he could open a gate to Soul Society for her but he refused to do so. He had explained to her that even if she was a friend of Soul Society, an unauthorized portal opening set off an alarm that would cause her to be attacked. It's better to attack and ask questions later he said.

So she had accepted the fact she wouldn't see any of them again, until her death that is. But now...

Now they were back and acting as if nothing had changed. When Kurosaki-kun defeated Aizen, there had been no time for tearful reunions. She had barely had enough time to glance around and see that everyone was indeed alive but wounded before they all started heading back for Soul Society. Kuchiki-san had been the only one to come back and forth, checking on Kurosaki-kun's condition and to see when he would awaken.

Orihime picked herself up from the floor, groaning as she worked out the stiff muscles she had developed from laying in that position for so long. She made herself some tea and went to the couch.

She was hoping she would have cried all her tears by now, but as she sat drinking her tea, she could fell them spilling down her cheeks again.

Well, at least Kurosaki-kun was happy.

That thought made her chest clench bringing with it a whole new wave of pain.

Yes, she wanted him to be happy. She would do anything to try and make his frown a little lighter and for the light to be in his eyes again; but that didn't mean it didn't hurt her.

When she saw him sitting beside Kuchiki-san, smiling and laughing, her heart nearly tore into. She placed her teacup on the table as she began crying so hard her body was shaking.

Rukia was important to him. Orihime knew this but the jealousy eating at her made her feel so bad. She liked Kuchiki-san, counted her as one of her best friends, but she couldn't stop the heavy on-slaught of anger, jealousy, and pain she felt at seeing them together.

She was a horrible person. She just knew her brother would be ashamed of her. Her closed as she cried harder at that thought.

Orihime didn't even know she fell asleep until she woke up on her couch. Pain raced across her face as she yawned and she went to wash her face in her bathroom. She cringed at her own reflection.

Her eyes were horribly swollen and red from her hours of crying. Small indentions littered her bottom lip where she had sunk her teeth into them to try and stifle her cries. Her normally, smooth red hair was a tangled mess. She took a moment to try and wash away the evidence of her sadness but it did not do much good.

Her doorball rang before she could work on her hair.

Her footsteps towards the door were slow, because her two visitors did not try to hide their reiatsu. She had her hand on the doorknob but could not make herself open it.

"Please Orihime-chan. Open the door and talk to us." the voice of Rangiku-san came through.

"Please Inoue. We can explain." Kuchiki-san said.

Orihime let her head fall against the door as she warred with herself. She had never been so rude in her life! She had never left her friends standing on her doorstep, or said something so mean like she had earlier that day; but then again, she had never felt so betrayed before.

Rangiku-san's voice came through again but this time Orihime could hear the tears in it. "Orihime-chan. Please, please let me talk to you. Please don't turn me away."

That broke through her anger. She couldn't stand that she had cause such sadness and pain in Rangiku-san.

Rangiku didn't bother to wipe her tears away when she saw Orihime's door opening. She also held down the urge to fly into Orihime's arms. She knew they had all hurt the gentle woman and now, it didn't matter if she had to crawl on her hands and knees, she would win her forgiveness.

She held the bag of 'peace offerings' she had bought to her chest and walked into Orihime's apartment.

* * *

Toshiro walked down the road, watching as the streetlamps lit one by one in the fading light. He was glad he hadn't bothered to get a gigai from Urahara so he wouldn't be subjected to glances from strangers. Too bad that didn't also apply to the Kurosaki family.

When Karin returned home she had found her brother brooding in the kitchen over a late dinner. Her father shook his head at her and led Yuzu out the door on some silly excuse. She was about to ask why when a shinigami she had never met walked into the kitchen.

_"Oi, Ichigo. You gonna keep ignoring us or can we start talking about these damn Arrancars?" _

_Karin studied the man that was speaking to her brother. He had the brightest red hair she had ever seen. Even more shocking were the tattoos that ran along along his forehead. She could see the tops of some on his chest and back as well. _

_"We're not discussing anything until Inoue is with us so you'd better hope Matsumoto and Rukia can apologize properly. And what about Chado and Ishida? Have any of you even bothered to talk to them?"_

_"Ikkaku and Yumichika went to talk to them." Toshiro said as he entered the kitchen. "We will all meet up as soon as Inoue Orihime is ready to do so."_

_"Toshiro?" Ichigo heard his sister say. He looked over to find her walking towards the captain with a shocked look on her face. _

_She couldn't have been more shocked than he was. How in the seven hells did Karin know him?_

_"Karin? When did you...How do you know Toshiro?" Ichigo asked._

_"Hitsugaya-taicho." Toshiro supplied for the hundredth time. Though he knew the young vizard would never comply with his request._

_"Long story Ichi-nii." she answered without bothering to look at him. "Toshiro how have you been? It's been a long time." _

_"I'm fine." _

_"That's good." she replied with a smile and walked straight up to the captain. Before he could ask what she was doing she punched him right in the face._

_He had not been expecting it so he was thrown back a few steps before catching his balance. "What the hell was that for?" _

_"__**That**__was for disappearing and never bothering to show your face again! Do you know what you put Orihime-nii through! She has been so worried about all of you! And what the hell are you doing here anyway? I haven't seen you around when the hollows have been attacking! What? Don't look at me like that! Why bother to show up now? Oh wait, Ichi-nii has his powers back so all the sudden you all show up like nothing has changed? Screw that! You should go over to Orihime-nii's and beg her, __**on you knee's,**__to forgive you! She puts you up whenever you come to this world, she feeds you, heals you, goes to hell, literally, for you and you bastards just disappear! I ought to beat every. single. one. of. your. asses." _

_By them time she was finished with that statement, she had pushed Toshiro into the wall and was glaring at him in such a way the captain didn't even dare to say anything back._

_Renji had sat down at the table and kept his mouth shut while she ranted. At first he was about to laugh when she punched Hitsugaya-taicho. Hell, he was already imaging re-telling it to all his buddies back home; but then, she started pushing him backwards. He knew the look on her face. It reminded him of Rukia whenever she was pissed beyond reasoning. He didn't care that she was a human girl. He wasn't taking any chances with a female Kurosaki that had a high enough reiatsu to see them._

_Ichigo hadn't bothered to say anything as well. He was still stunned over the fact that Karin knew Toshiro. When she punched him he nearly ran in front of her to protect her from the always angry little captain. He was surprised when Toshiro didn't retaliate but that was nothing compared to when she referred to Inoue as Orihime-nii. Since when had the two of them gotten so close?_

_What in the hell had he missed in the past year? Had he truly been so absorbed in his own world that he had missed so much changing around him?_

_By the end of Karin's rant he felt just as bad as the shinigami did. Hell, it looked like Inoue had another miniature Tatsuki running around defending her. _

_All three men in the room jumped slightly when Karin spoke again. She had moved back from Toshiro but continued to glare at him. "Now, you are going to march straight over to Orihime's house and beg for her forgiveness."_

_"But Matsumoto and Ruk..."_

_"I don't care who else is there!" Karin screamed. "You have to apologize to her personally. Do I make myself clear?" with her hands fitted to her hips and her fierce glare directed at the white haired man, Ichigo began to feel slightly bad for him. _

_"Yeah, yeah." he replied. As Karin moved away from him Ichigo and Renji could hear him muttering under his breath. "Freaking women...psycho...hormonal...that's why I love Momo."_

_Renji chuckled a little but unfortunately it brought Karin's attention to him. "You. I don't know you but I'm betting you're a friend of Orihime's too aren't you?"_

_Renji cut a worried glance to Ichigo who merely shrugged. He was glad he was too tall for the girl to hit him in the face but that didn't mean she couldn't land a couple hits to his stomach. "Umm...yeah I guess so, but I never stayed at her house or anything like the taicho did."_

_Karin nearly chuckled at the panicked expression on his face. Who needs an Arrancar to scare the boys a bit? A pissed off woman could do it in no time. She somehow managed to keep the glare on her face. "Doesn't matter. You'd better be working on that apology you owe her. You can wait 'til Toshiro finishes."_

_"Yes ma'am." Renji muttered under his breath. _

_Ichigo couldn't stop the laughter that came up with that. Until he saw Karin look at him with more anger than she had directed at Toshiro. _

_"Go ahead and laugh it up Ichi-nii. You've been the worst of them all." she left the kitchen after that biting remark leaving three confused, and slightly scared men in her wake._

Toshiro rubbed his jaw where Karin had punched him as he came to Orihime's door. He knew he had, at least on some level, deserved the punch but he was still embarrassed over the fact he had let a human girl lay into him like he had. Good thing she had turned it onto Renji and Kurosaki as well.

He did not even have time to knock before Matsumoto had opened the door of Orihime's apartment and pulled him inside.

"Taicho! I'm surprised you came to join us." she exclaimed as she crushed him into her massive chest.

He wiggled away from her and looked at the women seated on the couch. He could tell all of them had been crying, but Orihime looked far worse. Her eyes were still red and swollen, small wet spots adorned the collar of her shirt from crying, and her hair was tangled. When she met his eyes she managed a small smile and he felt even more like an ass than when Karin had finished with him.

He began to hesitate as her met her steady gaze, "I... umm...I just wanted to come say that.."

"It's okay." she interrupted him. "Rangiku-san and Kuchiki-san have already explained everything to me. "

"Inoue what did I say?"

"I'm sorry, Rukia-chan. I guess I'll have to get used to it. Sounds like you have to as well."

Rukia flushed. "I guess so, Orihime."

They smiled at each other and Toshiro couldn't help but feel relieved. He liked Inoue Orihime. She was a gentle person who went out of her way to help others and to make everyone feel welcome. Even him. He enjoyed his privacy and didn't fit into a crowd as well as others did. She seemed to understand this and gave him his space but also did little things to make him feel welcome. He was glad she was smiling again but he made sure none of that showed on his face.

"I'm glad you're okay and I'm very glad to see you Hitsugaya-taicho."

He looked at her shocked as she approached him. She had never used his formal title before. Was she still mad at him as well. He took a hesitant step back, remembering how Karin had smiled just before she punched him.

As Orihime launched herself onto Toshiro and hugged him, laughing and crying at the same time, he realized he had been set up. Somehow, he had known she would never strike him, but he hadn't expected her to hug him either. She had always respected his personal boundaries.

As he looked down to her form huddled around his, he gave an almost undetectable smile. He could let this one slip. She looked so happy he couldn't make himself pull away from her.

"I'm so glad to see you Toshiro-kun." she mumbled against his chest.

He slowly patted her back and whispered to her too, "I'm glad to see you too Orihime."

* * *

-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-

Everyone around the room was laughing and enjoying each others company and it made Orihime smile even wider.

After she, Rangiku-san, Rukia-chan, and Toshiro-kun had finished talking he called the others and told them to come to her apartment. She hadn't been expecting Sado-kun and Ishida-kun to show up as well but seeing everyone together again filled her with such happiness she had started crying again.

They had yet to talk about the situtation with the Arrancars but everyone was having such a good time reminicing that it didn't matter. Besides, tomorrow was Saturday and she could sleep in. As long as she was up in time to get ready for the festival she didn't care.

Ichigo glanced over at Inoue for what seemed like the hundredth time that night but he couldn't stop himself. He hated to see the redness enveloping her eyes, knowing she had been crying all day. Everything was fine now but he wished he hadn't let her run out of the house alone earlier.

Karin had done a good job of making him feel more like an ass than he already had. He realized that even though the shinigami had all apologized for their actions he had not. To make it worse, they had a reason they couldn't return but he had nothing. What was he supposed to say? _Sorry for basicaly ignoring you for over a year Inoue. I don't really have a reason besides the fact that I'm a selfish, ungrateful bastard._

_**"Hey, if the truth works go with it."**_

_"No one's talking to you asshole."_

He tuned out his hollow and returned his attention to the group in front of him.

"Alright, we need to discuss this new problem." Toshiro said, stopping the conversations around him.

"Yes, you're right Hitsugaya-san. Unfortunately the only one who has interacted with them is Inoue-san." Ishida remarked.

All eyes focused on her.

"Can you tell us what happened Orihime?" Renji asked.

"Sure. I was walking home to meet Karin-chan for our tutoring session..."

Ichigo interrupted her. "Wait, when did you start tutoring Karin?"

"It's been about a year since we started Kurosaki-kun." she answered before continuing. "When I came around the corner I saw an Arrancar standing over her so I called up my shield and rushed to her. She was obviously injured badly so I began to heal her and while I was the Arrancar began to speak with me."

"Yeah, and since when did Karin meet your fairy things? She acted like she knew them when they were healing you." he interrupted once again.

"Only a few months ago Kurosaki-kun. So anyway, the Arrancar said his name was Ildefonso and that he was surprised we had left the rest of them alone after Aizen's defeat." Everyone in the room visibly tensed at the mention of Aizen's name. "He said there were several lower ranking Arrancar left in Hueco Mundo and he had been sent to 'scout' out the place as he put it. He and I fought..."

"Yeah, tell me about this fight Inoue. Karin said you were and I quote 'wailing on him'. Since when did you know karate?" Ichigo asked.

"Kurosaki...do you think you could hold off your questions until she has finished her explanations so that we might be done before next week?" Toshiro asked with his normal gruff manner.

Ichigo flushed a little at the reprimand. He had not had time to ask Inoue all the questions he had wanted to clear up after she healed. Hearing her explain that day only brought more unanswered questions to light and he couldn't stop himself before he had been interrupting her.

"Sorry Inoue. Please continue."

"It's okay Kurosaki-kun." a light blush came to her face. "Anyway, I was able to kill him but I had been horribly injured in the process."

Everyone noticed her voice had dropped at this statement and her mannerisms became somewhat shy, nervous acting. "Karin-chan called her father to come to my house and Kurosaki-kun followed him. My powers spoke to me constantly to keep me semi-conscious so they could try to heal me. Unfortunately they had to pull from Kurosaki-kun's reiatsu to do so. He was forced to stay with me under my Soten Kisshun and that is what healed his soul and restored his powers."

"The Arrancar didn't give any further indication as to what their plans were Inoue-san?" Ishida asked.

"No he didn't, I'm sorry. Though the way he spoke and held himself, I'm guessing there are a lot more Arrancars we aren't aware of. He did make a reference to you Kurosaki-kun. I believe he said he had been looking for you."

"Fine by me. If they'd just come after me directly instead of hunting around and trying to attack others that be best."

Ichigo noticed Orihime's expression sadden at his statement.

"Don't be so hasty Kurosaki." Toshiro said. "We have no idea how many of them there are nor what kind of powers they possess."

"Yeah, but at least we know they aren't as strong as Aizen or his Espada." he replied.

"That doesn't matter."

Everyone turned to the whispered statement that came from Orihime.

"It doesn't matter that they aren't as strong as him. Even the lower rank Arrancar that came with Grimmjow that time hurt everyone badly."

No one had anything to say to that. They also knew that, unfortunately, she was the one who had had the most contact with any Arrancar.

"That's true Ichigo. " Sado said. "I also fought with an Arrancar in Hueco Mundo who had been demoted from Espada but he was still very powerful."

"Same for me." Ishida said.

"Yeah I know. I did too. Sorry Inoue, I was getting too cocky."

Orihime smiled at his apology and sat back to let the group begin discussing strategies. It felt good to be together with everyone again, even if it was because of the enemies once again. Hopefully, they could take care of the Arrancar without anyone being seriously injured and then they could just enjoy some time with one another.

She had spoken for a long time with Rangiku-san and Rukia-chan. They told her how the Captain Commander had prohibited anyone from coming in contact with their group because he felt they needed to return to their normal lives.

She was still hurt by their absence but she knew now that they had been missing her just as much. Rukia-chan had insisted Orihime call her by her name because they were friends and she had thrown herself onto the petite woman and cried again. She had told her to do the same and she was sure she could see tears gathering in the woman's eyes.

Orihime looked over her group of friends and again felt the need to cry but when her gaze landed on Kurosaki-kun that stopped.

He was reaching over her table, trying to swing at Renji for some comment he had made and she had a perfect view of his toned chest beneath his black shinigami outfit. She didn't need to see much of his wonderful upper body before she could instantly recall every inch of it due to how many times she had to heal him in the past. During so many battles, the top half of his outfit would get destroyed and she would watch him as she healed him.

She remembered how his beautiful bronze skin looked as he would lay there while she healed him. His tight, corded arms lying still beside him. On numerous occassions she had to rip her gaze away from his perfectly sculpted abdomen. Lucky her, the bottom of his outfit rode low on his hips giving her a small view of the tantalizing skin.

She would be right beside him as she healed him and his unique scent would fill her head causing her nearly pass out from the feelings it evoked in her. More than once she caught herself thinking about running her hands over every inch of his taut, sweaty skin. She always felt bad for ogling him but she couldn't stop herself. Sweet Kami, she could feel herself nearly faint from the image that presented. She would definitely love to run her hands down the small strip of light orange hair she had seen that went from just below his belly button down to his...

"Orihime-chan, do you hear me?"

Orihime nearly shrieked when she snapped herself out of her little fantasy to find Rangiku-san right in her face. "I-I'm sorry Rangiku-san. What were you saying?"

"Are you okay Orihime? You kinda zoned out on us but then your face got really red."

Orihime couldn't believe she had been thinking about...**that** with everyone in the room. She got even more embarrassed! How could she think about him like that? She was such a...tart. She couldn't even make herself think the other word she would have used.

"No, I'm okay Rangiku-san. I just didn't feel well for a moment. I've not been sleeping well." It wasn't a lie exactly, her stomach was still doing little flips at the thought of Kurosaki-kun..._stop it Orihime!_

She couldn't even make herself look at him right then. She mentally counted to 10 to calm down before she re-focused on the conversation.

"Unfortunately you're right Ishida-san." Toshiro said. "We are simply going to have to wait until they show themselves again before we can discover what they want. Remember everyone, if you find yourself facing one of the Arrancar try your best not to kill them but merely incapacitate them so we can interrogate them."

"Oh, does that mean you and Rangiku-san will be staying with me again?" Orihime asked excitedly.

Rangiku enveloped her in a hug that would have strangled most people, "Yes, Orihime-chan! It's going to be so wonderful! We can stay up late talking and I can't wait to eat your cooking again!"

Everyone cringed at the thought of eating Orihime's food. "How do you deal with eating that stuff Toshiro?" Ichigo asked him.

He narrowed his eyes at Ichigo, "She can cook normally you know. She realizes that most people hate the things she likes so she makes the food then adds her own ingredients after serving the plates."

"Oh." Ichigo turned towards her and was glad to see her brilliant smile once again on her face.

Orihime turned from the door after seeing the others off. Rangiku-san and Toshiro-kun were laying their things out for the night. Ichigo had stayed behind to speak with Toshiro about some things.

She was tired but very happy at the moment. She sat on the couch, smiling to herself, as she prepared a mental list of groceries she would need to pick up the next day.

The doorbell drew her out of her musings.

Ichigo came into the room with his normal scowl in place. "Who would that be this late? Were you expecting someone Inoue?"

"No. I don't get visitors this late, well, I don't get a lot of visitors period." she walked towards the door and glanced through the peep-hole.

Ichigo heard her gasp as she looked out the door and was preparing to draw Zangetsu when she spoke. "Kurosaki-kun you need to hide."

"Huh? Why would I hide?" he was confused.

"Because that's your father and Yuzu-chan at the door."

"What? What in the hell would they be doing here?"

"I don't know but I'm being rude! I need to open the door and you can't let Yuzu-chan see you like...oh...she can't see you in shinigami form can she?" she giggled. "Sorry, I was being silly again." she was suddenly glad he had come in this form. She had questioned him earlier about it and he said he left Kon in his body so Karin wouldn't be at home alone. Kon had been staying with Urahara the past year and Ichigo had not sounded too happy about him being back in his room.

"Yuzu-chan, Kurosaki-san come in please. I'm sorry I took so long. What brings you here?" Orihime smiled as she let them in.

"Sorry about this Orihime-san but we were walking back from the store and I saw your light on and I just have to talk to you! It's really important." Yuzu's voice was pleading with Orihime to speak with her.

"Of course, Yuzu-chan. You can speak to me anytime you need to. Don't worry about the time." Orihime watched as the girl sat on the couch and stared expectantly at her father.

"I told you this was going to be a private conversation oto-san. Please wait for me outside. It shouldn't take long."

Isshin frowned but nodded to his daughter. Before he left he caught Ichigo's eye and let him know to make sure everything was okay with his her. Ichigo nodded to him and sat on the floor across from Yuzu. Though he felt like he was invading her privacy, she did sound a little frantic and if something was troubling his sister he needed to know about it. Good thing Yuzu couldn't see or hear shinigami.

Orihime glanced at Ichigo trying to convey her displeasure through her eyes.

"I'm not leaving Inoue. I'm sorry, I don't mean to disrespect her privacy but you heard her. She sounded worried. If something's bothering her I need to know about it."

Orihime sighed. She knew he was right. Yuzu-chan was his sister after all and she didn't have the right to interfere between them. Also, she couldn't exactly say anything to him or Yuzu-chan would think she was talking to the wall.

"Alright, Yuzu-chan. Tell me what happened."

"Oh, Orihime-san it's wonderful but I'm so nervous and I just know I'm going to mess everything up!" she was talking so fast Orihime could hardly keep up with what she was saying.

"Calm down. Now what happened?"

"Jinta-kun asked me out."

"What the hell!" Ichigo screamed as he lept up from his position on the floor. Orihime almost said something to him but forced herself to be quiet so as not to scare Yuzu-chan. She did cut her eyes to him to remind him not to knock anything over or to punch holes in her walls. He seemed to understand her non-spoken request and simply grumbled under his breath and paced back and forth.

"Yuzu-chan that's wonderful! I'm so happy for you!" she pulled the girl into a hug but did not miss the shocked look on Ichigo's face.

"I'm happy too but I'm so scared I'll mess something up and he won't like me anymore." the girl whined into Orihime's chest.

Orihime gently pulled away from her and wiped the few tears that had escaped her eyes. "Listen to me Yuzu-chan. You are going to be fine. It's only natural to feel nervous about going out with someone you like."

"Since when did she like that annoying little shit?"

Orihime decided to ignore that comment altogether. "Just remember, he asked you out because he likes you. So just be yourself. You are a beautiful, kind, amazing girl and he sees that."

"You think so?" she whispered.

"I really do. So tell me? When are you two going out?"

Yuzu's gaze fell to her hands as she answered. "Well, that's the other thing. He asked me to go to the festival with him." her hesitant gaze met her older friend's.

Orihime laughed gently. "Did you really think I would be upset with that? Go with him Yuzu-chan! You've liked him for a while now. So what if we made plans to go to the festival together? You've got a date with the boy you like."

"I can not believe you are encouraging this."

Once again, she ignored that.

"I'll let Tatsuki know why you aren't coming. Oh, do you want me to help you get ready for your date?"

Yuzu clapped her hands in excitement. "Oh would you, please, Orihime-san?"

"Of course, oh you are going to be so adorable when we are finished with you. He won't know what hit him. Oh! You've got to wear that new yellow shirt you bought the other day." Orihime squealed in her own excitement of the girls upcoming date.

"Thank you so much Orihime-san, for everything." Yuzu hugged her again before she could leave.

"Your welcome Yuzu-chan. I'll come over around 5 and help you get ready okay?"

"Okay, good night Orihime-san."

Orihime watched from the door, making sure she met up with her father safely before she closed it. She was hesitant to turn around and meet the furious gaze that awaited her.

Ichigo was sitting on the end of the couch watching her as she slowly made her way back. She sat down lightly, still avoiding his gaze. He had yet to say anything and it was making her nervous.

"I can't believe this."

She looked up to find him watching her. He most certainly didn't look happy.

"Not only did you support her going out with that annoying kid but you're gonna help her get ready? What the hell Inoue!"

"Calm down Kurosaki-kun. She's had a crush on Jinta-kun for a while now. I know he acts immature but if you've ever seen him around her you'd be shocked at the change in him. He's so nice and gentle with her."

Ichigo stood up and started pacing again. "She's too damn young to be out on a date!"

"Kurosaki-kun she's 13 and it's not like they're going to a restaurant or something. They're going to a festival. An open area where they'll be in sight at all times."

"Oh, don't try that Inoue. It's still a date. What the hell? What if he tries something with her?"

Orihime stood up at this point and he came to stand right in front of her. "Did you not just hear me Kurosaki-kun? They'll be in sight **at all times**! Meaning on the off chance that he tried something with her, which I can tell you he won't do, she could easily call for help."

Neither of them noticed that Toshiro and Rangiku stood in the doorway of the kitchen watching the exchange.

"Oh she won't have to call for help, I'll be the one there to kick his ass."

"Oh no you don't Kurosaki-kun. You are not going to spy on them and ruin her first date." Orhime had her hands fisted on her hips at this point. She could never remember being so frustrated with someone as she was with him right now.

Ichigo raised his eyebrow at her. "I won't? Oh you've got that wrong 'Hime I will most certainly be there watching every single move that little punk makes, that's **if** she even goes. The old man doesn't give two shits what I do but I promise he's not gonna let her go out."

Rangiku had to put her hand over her mouth to stop the squeal from slipping out the moment he called her 'hime. The two didn't even seem to notice he said it.

"Oh don't worry about that. I'm gonna talk to Kurosaki-san tomorrow and make sure he doesn't stop this as well."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh come on! This is the most harmless first date in history! Why would you try and stop your sister from being happy?"

"I'm not!" he yelled.

"Yes you are!" she yelled right back.

"Orihime!"

"Ichigo-kun!"

The pair had shouted each other's names at the same time and it was enough to shock the both of them out of their argument.

Both of them blushed when they realized what they had done.

Ichigo came out of his shock first. "Wait a minute. You were yelling at me."

If possible, her blush deepened. "I wasn't...well I was but...it's just that, mou! You were frustrating me."

He chuckled. "I've never heard you yell at anyone."

Orihime sighed and sat down on the couch. "I'm sorry. It's just that I was getting upset for Yuzu-chan. I know how disappointed she'll be if you don't let her go out with Jinta-kun."

"Don't be sorry." he sat down beside her. "You're right. I couldn't do that to Yuzu." he saw her smile at him. "I still think she's too young to date but you're right about the festival being harmless. At least that way I can watch out for her."

"Kurosaki-kun!"

"Not that way. I won't spy exactly but I'll be there just to...check up on her. Every once in a while."

Orihime sighed. "I guess that's to be expected of big brothers. Just don't be obvious okay? You'll embarrass her."

"Yeah I know." neither said anything for a moment before he turned his gaze on her once again. "What happened to Ichigo?"

"Huh?" she asked clearly confused.

"I mean, you called me Ichigo before." he was slightly embarrassed to bring it back up but hearing his name come from her was something he wanted to hear again.

"I'm sorry I just so excited and...wait, you called me Orihime."

He averted his gaze and floundered with his words a bit before he gathered his courage to look at her again. "Is it...okay? Can I keep calling you Orihime?"

He almost couldn't draw his next breath because of the beautiful smile she gave him.

"Of course." she whispered breathlessly. "It is okay if I call you Ichigo-kun?"

"Yeah."

Ichigo didn't know why but he had a sudden, almost desperate urge to pull her into his arms. Maybe it was because she was looking at him with those beautiful grey eyes or her full pink lips were spread into a sweet smile, just for him. He watched her slender hand tuck a piece of hair behind her ear and the urge hit him stronger than ever. He got up from the couch before he could act on it.

Orihime followed him to the door and he turned to look at her as he went down the stairs.

"Goodnight, Orihime."

"Goodnight, Ichigo-kun."


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry for the late update everyone, but you know how the holidays are.

Thank you all again for your reviews and alerts! Please Please Please keep them coming!

No, I don't own Bleach but I sincerely wish I did! :)

* * *

Orihime tried, unsuccessfully, for the tenth time that afternoon, not to laugh at Kurosaki-san's face as he looked around the corner of Yuzu-chan's door.

When she arrived at their home that evening she had been fully prepared to talk him into letting his daughter attend the festival with Jinta-kun, but the moment he opened the door it was obvious he already knew about it.

Ichigo-kun said Yuzu had actually told him on their way home last night and the resulting argument lasted until well after midnight.

In the end, Kurosaki-san had relented and allowed Yuzu-chan to attend the festival with Jinta-kun but only if Ichigo went to the festival as well.

Yuzu had then threatened her brother with every torture known to man-kind if he embarrassed her in anyway.

Orihime chuckled quietly as she continued to do Yuzu-chan's hair. The girl hadn't quit talking since she arrived.

Yuzu-chan's excitement was contagious, and even Karin, who had at first teased Yuzu mercilessly (she thought Jinta was a bigger idiot than their father), had gotten into the spirit - going so far as to help her sister pick out an outfit.

All the girls in the room ignored the sigh that came from the door. Kurosaki-san had been watching them the whole time with such a sad look on his face. The only time he left his position by the door was when he would occasionally run to the poster of his late wife, crying loudly about how it wasn't time for their daughter to grow up and how did he stop this "punk" from defiling her. Those rants didn't last long however, Ichigo-kun would wind up kicking the older man effectively shutting him up.

"Orihime-san, thank you again for helping me." Yuzu said.

"You are more than welcome Yuzu-chan. Now remember, just be yourself and make sure you have fun tonight."

Yuzu smiled as she admired her reflection in the mirror. Orihime had arranged her hair in soft curls around her face. "I will. I'm still nervous though."

"It's okay to be nervous. I promise you, he's probably just as nervous as you are."

"Really? You think so?" she asked with hopeful eyes.

"Oh come on Yuzu. It's just Jinta. He's not anybody special. Besides you've known him for a while now. Whatever bad side you may think you have I'm sure he's already seen it." Karin said as she laid on her bed.

"Yeah, your right. I'm gonna have a good time tonight and just relax and be myself!" the girl replied, pumping her arm as she had seen Orihime do several times.

All three laughed and began talking about Yuzu's night to come.

Ichigo sat in his room trying to ignore the happy laughter that was coming from the twins bedroom. He had agreed he wouldn't try to stop Yuzu's date but everytime he thought about it he got mad.

He was still surprised at the bond that seemed to have formed between his sisters and Orihime.

When she entered their house, Yuzu grabbed her hand and pulled her into her room. They hadn't emerged since, but from their laughter it was easy to tell they were good friends.

Ichigo still couldn't believe he had been so self-absorbed the past year. So much had been changing, in his own house, and he had never realized it.

He knew he had to talk to Orihime soon. He overheard Karin talking to her earlier when Yuzu left the room about some hollows from last month. Had she been the one protecting his family and not his father like he had origionally thought?

He laid his head down on the desk and tried to ignore the newest round of laughter from the girls. Orihime got along with them so well. It didn't seem like their friendship had begun mere months ago. They were now confiding in her. He knew he had grown somewhat distant from them ever since he got his shinigami powers, but had he truly been that bad?

"Ichigo."

The intrusion startled him so badly he fell backwards from his chair with a yell. He looked over to the window only to see Rukia sitting on the ledge.

"What the hell Rukia? Can't you just come in the front door like normal people?" He righted himself and took his position in the chair once again.

"If I did that I wouldn't see you acting all depressed now would I? What's your problem?"

"Nothing. What do you want?"

"Everyone will be at the festival tonight. I heard your little sister had a date so I asked everyone to be there to watch out for the Arrancar so you can focus on her new boyfriend."

Ichigo felt his eye twitch at her words. He also didn't miss the teasing light that had appeared in her eyes. "I'm sure that's the reason. It has nothing to do with allowing everyone to get a few good jibes in at my expense huh?"

"Of course not!" the sarcasm was laid on thick with that statement, "Although, Renji did say he was looking forward to seeing you tonight, and we all know Jinta is just his _favorite _person." she couldn't hold her laughter any longer.

Before she could get more than a few chuckles out, Ichigo shoved her out of the window and closed the pane. She was in shinigami form so he didn't fell bad about pushing her. As it was, she simply tumbled back before righting herself and taking off.

He noticed the time and quickly changed clothes. He decided to wait in the living room for the girls. Jinta would be coming to pick Yuzu up in ten minutes and he wanted to be ready to scare the hell out of him when he showed up. Somehow, Orihime had talked him into waiting another fifteen minutes before they would leave.

He didn't like it. Yuzu and Jinta would be walking alone to the festival and it would take him a little while to find them once he got there. His frown deepened. This was already starting off to be a horrible night.

"Ichigo-kun?"

He turned around to see Orihime walking into the living room and he immediately felt his ears turning red. The soft silk of her white skirt brushed against her calves as she walked. Her tight, red shirt clung to her form like a second skin, enhancing her already generous bust line. The neckline dipped just low enough to show a little cleavage and he had to make a physical effort to look away.

"Y-yes? What is it?" _Shit, now I'm stuttering? What the hell?_

"You were spacing out a little. I thought that was my job?" she laughed gently and tucked her hair behind her ears. Once again Ichigo felt that unfamiliar stirring in his stomach.

"Sorry, been thinking about a lot of things lately."

Orihime came to sit beside him on the couch. "Please try not to worry about Yuzu-chan too much tonight. I know you don't really like Jinta-kun but he treats her with a lot of respect. You'll see."

"I hope you're right about that." he didn't bother to hide the disbelief in his words.

"Trust me. Besides, you should try to have fun yourself tonight. It seems like we are going to be busy again so we should enjoy ourselves while we can."

"About that, Orihime..." the doorbell cut off his sentence and he flashed a hard glare at the door.

Jinta was on the other side looking quite nervous. Ichigo couldn't stop the smirk that came to his face. _Good, if he's already nervous than scaring him won't take too much effort. _

"Um...g-good evening, Ichigo-san." Jinta stuttered, unable to meet the vizards eyes.

Ichigo said nothing, merely raised his eyebrow at Jinta's greeting. _Ichigo-san? What happened to his usual name calling? Little bastard wants to try and be polite now. Oh, I am gonna have fun with this. _

Ichigo continued to be silent but stepped aside and allowed the young man into his home. Jinta was slow to come in and kept his eyes on Ichigo as he went into the living room.

The orange haired shinigmai leaned against the wall, crossing his arms and regarding Jinta in silence. It wasn't long before the boy was squirming in his seat.

"So..umm...is Yuzu-chan ready yet?" he asked.

Ichigo continued to stare at the boy, unmoving in his perusal.

Jinta didn't say anything more, opting to stare at his feet and occasionally glance at Ichigo.

Ichigo's hollow was having a field day inside his mind. Torturing the young man was nearly as fun as fighting for the twisted individual.

Ichigo didn't bother reprimanding his hollow because he was having almost as much fun as he was. Jinta was visibly sweating now. He twisted and turned in his chair, avoiding looking at the scowling young man against the wall.

Unfortunately, his fun ended with Orihime.

"Jinta-kun, Yuzu-chan will be down soon." he turned his thankful gaze on her and she gave him an encouraging smile.

She had to strain not to laugh at the poor child. Ichigo had been scaring the boy so badly she could see the sweat running down his forehead. She wanted to scold Ichigo for his behavior but...it was too funny to watch. He hadn't said a single word to Jinta but the boy was clearly scared beyond belief.

"I'm so sorry to keep you waiting, Jinta-kun." Yuzu came down the stairs and Orihime was very pleased with their efforts that afternoon. The young girl was adorable in her black skirt and yellow top. Her excitement showed in her face and Jinta was immediately more calm in her presence.

"Don't worry about it Yuzu-chan. I only got here myself. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah. Let me grab my purse."

She disappeared into the kitchen and Ichigo turned his gaze back onto Jinta. Immediately the smile that had been on the boys face fell and he began shuffling his feet again. He looked at the stairs and his eyes widened in fright. When Yuzu came back she had to grab his arm and lead him out of the house.

She narrowed her eyes at her brother as she lead her date out of the house. "Geez onii-chan, stop scaring him will you?"

When the door closed behind them Orihime let loose her laughter. "Poor Jinta-kun."

Standing at the bottom of the stairs was Kurosaki Isshin in his shinigami form, Zanpakuto in plain sight.

* * *

The festival was quite crowded by the time Orihime and Ichigo arrived. Bright, colorful lights decorated all the stalls and nearby trees giving the park a glow that cut through the darkness of the night. The sound of children laughing filled the air and Orihime's smile grew larger.

The walk to the fair grounds had been pleasant, even though most of the way Ichigo was grumbling about his father. Isshin could not go because of an issue with his work so he made sure Ichigo understood to watch over Yuzu. This understanding was issued, of course, in the form of a fist fight.

Orihime glanced at her companion. Ichigo was looking around the park grounds, trying to find Yuzu she supposed. A small sigh escaped her lips and she was glad he was occupied so he didn't hear it. If she tried at all, she could forget the fact that he came to watch over Yuzu. Karin had left them earlier to find Tatsuki in the crowd, leaving her and Ichigo alone.

It almost felt like a date.

She tried, hard, to push that thought from her mind. Somehow, she had been confident (and convincing) when she talked Yuzu through her nervousness earlier, but the truth was - she had not been on a date before either.

Oh, she had played the senairio out many times in that over active imagination of hers, normally the lead male was played by a certain scowling, orange haired man, but she had never actually been out with anyone.

Not that she hadn't been asked.

For the past two years she had been approached buy quite a few young men hoping to take her out; but her heart was only set on one person. It wouldn't be fair to those men if she went out with them because her thoughts would be fully on Ichigo.

A particular stall caught her eye. "Ichigo-kun, I'm gonna get some ramen from over there. I know the owner and he'll put some wasabi paste on it for me. Do you want anything?"

He inwardly blanched at her choice of foods. "No thanks, I'm good. I'll wait here for you and keep looking for Yuzu." He watched her run off and he continued scanning the crowds.

While searching for his sister he noticed most of the men around him turning around to focus on something. Curiousity got the better of him, but when he turned around he was surprised.

All of the men had been focusing on Orihime.

The frown on his face grew ever more prominent as he marched over to stand right behind her and shoot the men the most scathing look he possessed. They all turned and left, though the braver of the men glared right back at him.

What the hell? Did those bastards not have anything better to do?

Okay, so she looked good tonight.

Well, better than good. She had damn near caused his brain to shut down when she walked into the living room earlier but still, they didn't have to stare at her like she was a piece of meat.

Orihime almost ran into him when she turned around. When had he moved?

"I'm so sorry Ichigo-kun."

"Don't worry about it Orihime. Come on."

She followed along silently beside him and enjoyed her ramen. He was in a worse mood than when they left the house and she wondered what happened.

Had someone picked a fight with him? Not that it was hard to do, especially when he was in such a foul mood already. He really enjoyed his fighting. He could easily have a future in that American wrestling. Orihime's mind traveled down a twisted road of his future in the sport, so much so that she didn't notice he had stopped and ran into his strong back.

"Ichigo-kun, what is..." She glanced over his shoulder and found what had stopped him.

Sitting on a bench, away from the crowds, were Jinta and Yuzu. The pair were laughing and eating ice cream cones. Jinta was gesturing wildly during the story he was telling and got some ice cream on his cheek. Yuzu laughed at him but brought out a napkin to clean the cold mess away. The look on Jinta's face spoke volumes.

He gazed at her with such tenderness and held her hand gently, almost as if she were a fragile piece of china that would crack at the slightest pressure. Yuzu had a faint blush on her cheeks as she wiped his face. Her hands dropped away quickly but Jinta grabbed one of them and tugged her up. Orihime watched as he led her back into the crowd.

"Damn it." Ichigos curse caught her by surprise.

"What is it?"

His shoulders slumped and he trudged over to the same bench they had just left vacant. Orihime slowly sat next to him.

"You were right."

Her confusion showed on her face. "About what Ichigo-kun?"

"He is different with her. Shit, how am I supposed to beat the hell out of a guy that treats Yuzu like that?" he threw his head back and gazed at the sky.

"You don't. You let Yuzu-chan and Jinta-kun enjoy themselves. Trust him to take care of her. But you make sure you are still there if she needs to talk."

The pair didn't say anything for a while. She was content to simply be by his side for the moment. He continued to gaze at the sky with a thoughtful look on his face. Someone waved to her over the heads of the festival goers. She smiled, she would know Tatsuki's armband from anywhere.

"Thank you Orihime." she turned back to him. "I'm just gonna let them be for now, I guess. Although, if she wants someone to talk to I'm sure she'll go to you. I didn't know you had gotten so close with my sisters."

"I'm sorry if that bothers you but..."

"It doesn't." he interrupted.

"Huh?"

"I'm glad you and them got to be such good friends. They've never had a woman to talk to, and I'm glad that it's you." he turned to look at her. She forgot how to speak for a moment when he turned his warm brown gaze on her.

"Tha..Thank you." she lowered her head so he wouldn't see the blush that covered her face. "I may have become friends with them but never forget, Ichigo-kun, you are their brother. They will always need you."

Her voice was soft as it came to his ears. When she turned to look at him with her cheeks slightly pink, her innocent storm grey eyes, her full, pouty lips, he felt the desire to kiss her run through his veins.

Could he do it though?

This would complicate things immensely. This wasn't just some random girl, this was Orihime. The girl he fought beside. His friend. He couldn't just kiss her and walk away...pretending it never happened. It would have to mean something.

Did it mean something?

That he didn't know.

He knew he cared about her. He had went into Hueco Mundo, despite the danger, just to bring her back. He wanted to protect her; but did he care for her like _that?_

This was a new situation for him. He'd never had the desire to kiss any woman before, never felt anything more than friendship for anyone so he wasn't sure what he was feeling. He could feel his hollow laughing at his expense, so he tuned him out with the promise of a lot of pain later.

He also didn't know how she felt.

He knew she cared for him.

Her actions and words in Hueco Mundo alone told him that but, Orihime was a caring person. She was nice to everyone and didn't want to see people in pain so he couldn't tell how she felt from that alone.

Thankfully, Tatsuki and Karin walked up at that moment and ended his internal struggle.

They all left to go walk around the festival grounds, never knowing that a certain orange haired member of their group was confused as hell.

-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-

* * *

The group of teens laughed together as they journeyed back home from the festival. They had all had a good time, even Ichigo admitted it had been fun.

Later in the evening, they had met up with the group of shinigami that had come back. Urahara had given them all their gigais, which is why they had run late.

Yuzu and Jinta walked a little ahead of the group.

All the shinigami had teased Ichigo about his sister's unlikely new beau; that was until Ichigo and Renji started fighting about it and Orihime had to drag both of them to a private area so she could heal them. The teasing had stopped there.

They had split up when it was time to leave. Orihime, Tatsuki, and Jinta left with the Kurosaki's while the shinigami went back to Urahara's to drop off their gigai before patrolling. They hadn't found any other Arrancar but everyone agreed it was best to be on strict guard for them.

Ichigo had to admit, Jinta may be a jerk to everyone else but he was very nice to Yuzu. He still didn't like the kid but if he was going to treat Yuzu with such respect then he really couldn't object to her seeing him.

Even if they were so young!

Though, the date had been harmless enough. The red-head had better remember to keep it that way or Ichigo planned to bring him pain like he had never experienced.

When they rounded the next corner, everyone but Yuzu tensed at the reaitsu they felt.

"What is it Jinta-kun?" Yuzu asked.

"Well, well, well...look what I found?" a teasing voice called from above. The group looked up to see another Arrancar hovering above them. His mask only covered his mouth and his long, black hair laid over his left shoulder. He wore no shirt, only a pair of white hakama. His sword was strapped to his side, still sheathed.

Ichigo moved closer to Orihime while Jinta moved closer to Yuzu. Tatsuki went up to the younger pair and started ushering them forward.

"Hey you two, why don't we go on ahead and leave Ichigo and Orihime alone for a while." Tatsuki said, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

Yuzu was confused, but when she looked back she saw how closely Ichigo was standing to Orihime and she smiled in appreciation. "Okay Tatsuki-chan. Ichi-nii never bothered me once tonight so I guess he does deserve it."

"Hey!" her brother yelled from behind her. She only giggled and kept walking beside Jinta.

Jinta looked back to Ichigo. The pair nodded to each other and Jinta put his arm around Yuzu's shoulders to keep her close.

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at the boy but he would have to get him later for that. He had other things to worry about. When Tatsuki and the others were well out of sight, Ichigo put his shinigami badge to his chest and told Orihime to step back and watch his body.

The Arrancar seemed to have no desire to attack him during all this. He stood, unmoving, in the same position he was in when they spotted him.

"What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked.

"I felt your reiatsu so I came looking for you." he responded.

"Not that. Why are you in this world?"

The Arrancar swept his hair behind his shoulders. "Oh, that." he paused and Ichigo felt his stare drift towards Orihime. "Why not?"

Ichigo pushed off from the ground and attacked him. He slashed Zangetsu against the Arrancar's arm, but it didn't cut him. He pulled back and sharpened his reiatsu so that he could pierce the others heirro.

Orihime had leaned Ichigo's body against a fence and stood in front of him watching the battle. Ichigo fired his getsuga tensho and she had to call her shield up to protect them. He had not used his bankai yet and this Arrancar was stronger than the one she had faced.

She watched as Ichigo lunged for the Arrancar again, swinging Zangetsu towards his neck. The Arrancar moved backwards and went to kick Ichigo. He parried to the side and brought Zangetsu up in an arc, slicing the Arrancar's chest.

A bright, red light shone from the Arrancar's hand and before she could even call out a warning, he fired the cero at Ichigo, throwing him backwards.

Ichigo stood up, panting hard. The cero had caught him off guard but he had been able to protect himself from the worst of the blast. "What do you Arrancar want? Why are you now coming to this world!" he demanded.

The Arrancar didn't answer. Suddenly he was in front of Ichigo, holding his sword. He had used his sonido to close the distance. Before he could swing at Ichigo, a blast of ice from the left made him move back quickly.

Ichigo turned his head in the direction the blast came from. "Toshiro!"

The young man's eyebrow twitched, "Hitsugaya-taicho." he reminded the vizard. "Who is this?"

"Dunno. He won't say much of anything." Ichigo responded. He watched as the Arrancar prepared another cero and the two shinigami's lunged out of the way.

The Arrancar was now having a hard time. With Ichigo and Toshiro fighting him he had shown signs of tiring. The Arrancar fired another cero but it wasn't as strong as the previous ones.

Toshiro used his shunpo to get behind the Arrancar and deliver a hard blow to his back. The Arrancar plummeted to the ground, close to Orihime.

Ichigo watched in horror as the Arrancar lifted himself up and pointed his hand towards Orihime; the red glow becoming brighter.

He didn't think about his actions, he only reacted as he sped towards them screaming her name.

The Arrancar never had the time to fire his final cero as Ichigo plunged his sword into his chest, killing him.

Orihime watched Ichigo catch his breath. She scanned his body for injuries and was glad to note none of them were very bad.

"Are you alright Orihime?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you. Hold on and I'll heal you right away." he tried to protest but this time Orihime got her way and he sat on the curb as she quickly healed him.

"I told you not to kill them Kurosaki. We need to interrogate one of them." Toshiro said, landing beside the pair.

"Well too bad. You can capture the next one. I wasn't really concerned about interrogating him at that moment." he fired back.

"Obviously. I'm going to see if the others found anything." with that he left.

Ichigo returned to his body after Orihime finished healing him and the pair set off towards her house.

Ichigo stayed alert, searching for any other foreign reiatsus around the area.

Nothing else attacked them but that didn't stop the foreboding feeling he had.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N:

I just want to take a moment and thank you all for your reviews and alerts! I'm so glad I've received such a positive response from this story! I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well! Thank you again!

* * *

Orihime sat in class, staring out the window as her mind wandered. She had tried to pay attention in class, but math was always one of her best subjects and she just couldn't stay focused on the easy material.

Instead, she had glanced out the window and gotten distracted by the beauty of the sunny day. She wanted nothing more at that moment than to be laying on the plush, green grass, staring into the clouds.

Maybe she could get Tatsuki to cloud gaze with her. They could spend hours talking and trying to spot the same shapes in the clouds. Oh, maybe Ichigo-kun would join them.

Unfortunately, instead of the blush that normally graced her features when she thought of him, a worried look came over her face that none of her classmates saw.

Rangiku and Toshiro had already been at her apartment when she and Ichigo arrived there last night.

One of the other groups had encountered an Arrancar as well, but Toshiro wouldn't tell them any details other than to assure them that everyone was alright.

To say Ichigo had been upset was putting it _very _mildly.

Toshiro told them to meet at Urahara-san's shop after school and they would talk about everything.

Ichigo had left after that.

Rangiku was uncharacteristically quiet that night. She sat at the table with Toshiro talking after she told Orihime to get some sleep.

That only worried Orihime more.

The bell signaling lunch time snapped the healer out of her musings, making her knock her book onto the floor. Some of the other students laughed, used to Orihime's daydreams.

She wished she had in fact been daydreaming and not worrying over the events in her ever hectic life.

* * *

Ichigo sat on the rooftop awaiting the rest of his friends for lunch.

He was still pissed off at Toshiro from the night before. He crushed the juice box he had been drinking out of and threw it to the side.

How could he not share whatever information he had been given right then? What was so important that he made them wait until this evening?

He leaned back against the wall and tried to calm down. His anger wasn't helping him in any way and he didn't want to worry Orihime anymore than she was.

He drew one of his knees up and propped his muscular arm against it as he thought about the healer once again.

He was still so confused by his own thoughts about her.

If Tatsuki and Karin had been any later in coming last night he was afraid he would have given into the impulse and kissed her.

He was glad they had come along and stopped the moment before it began. Not that the idea of kissing her was a bad thing; that was so far from the truth a smirk appeared on his face. He just didn't know how he felt about the auburn beauty.

Ichigo gave himself a small shake and focused on the reiatsu's approaching him. This wasn't the time to be thinking about those kinds of things. Karakura was once again the focus of attacks from Arrancar and his friends were in danger.

Maybe, once he had elimated this threat, he would think more on these new feelings. For now, he needed to be focused.

Ishida appeared around the corner with Orihime, who was laughing at some story he had told. Her bright auburn hair blowing gently in the breeze, and her full pink lips upturned in a smile.

Focused...right...easier said than done.

"Ichigo."

Chad sat next to him and gave him a small nod. That's why he liked Chad. They didn't have to engage in small talk. They could just sit near each other in silence, and most of the time communicate with a look.

"Hello, Ichigo-kun." Orihime called with her normal enthusiasm.

"Hey Orihime. Ishida."

The Quincy sat down in the group and fixed his gaze on Ichigo. "What happened last night Kurosaki?"

"Hello to you too. Jeez, can't even wait til we eat, huh?" Ichigo had not been in the best of moods today and he found being able to vent on Ishida was a great stress reliever. Almost as much as fighting with Renji.

"Knowing you, it would take you that long to properly articulate your thoughts. I figured I'd give you all the time you needed." he pushed his glasses back on his face and shot a smug look to Ichigo.

Ichigo raised himself to his knees and got close to the quincy's face. "How about I give you the short version and spend the rest of the lunch period kicking your ass?"

Ishida and Ichigo went to grab the other but both stopped when they felt Orihime grab both of their shoulders gently.

"Guys, please, this is childish and we have things to discuss."

The boys shot scathing looks to the other and reluctantly got back to their original positions.

"Your right Inoue-san. Forgive me, my temper got the best of me."

Ichigo almost went ahead and punched Ishida anyway for the look he gave Orihime.

"Ichigo-kun? What had you so upset before we even got here?"

He looked into her worried filled eyes. How was it that she could always tell how he was feeling?

"Just still pissed off at Toshiro."

"What happened?" Sado asked.

They spent the rest of lunch talking about the events of the night before and agreed to wait and meet at Urahara's shop right after school. Luckily, the handicrafts club had canceled it's meeting for that afternoon.

Before the bell rang, Keigo and Mizuiro walked up to the group. The former looking more than a little scared.

"Inoue-san? Can I talk to you for a moment?" Keigo asked.

Orihime noticed the fear in his eyes. "Is everything okay Asano-san?"

She noticed he cut his eyes to Ichigo for a moment before he answered. "I just really need to talk to you."

Ichigo noticed his glance as well. "What is it Keigo?"

"I..um...I just wanted to talk to her alone for a moment."

Everyone in the group noticed the sudden spike in reiatsu his answer brought. If anyone had wondered how Ichigo would react to that statement, they got their answer.

"Why is that Keigo?" his voice was deceptively calm. "What exactly do you want to ask her?"

Ichigo was trying to ignore the side of him that wanted to pound his friends face into the concrete. He wasn't exactly sure why, but the fact that Keigo wanted to be _alone_with Orihime had trigged his anger faster than Aizen could have ever hoped to.

"Wait...was that you Ichigo?" Keigo asked. He no longer looked afraid, he looked almost...hopeful.

That knocked the fight right out of Ichigo. Now he was just confused.

"Huh?"

Mizuiro looked up from his cellphone. "I tried to tell you Asano-san, but you wouldn't listen to me."

"Again with the formal speech! What is with you Mizuiro?" he cried dramatically to his friend. "And anyway, if you had seen them last night you'd be upset as well!"

"Alright, I'm confused. What the hell is up with you Keigo?" Ichigo demanded.

Keigo sat down and his shoulders slumped. His normal cheerful demeanor was gone. "I saw them last night."

The group shared an understanding look between them.

"I was walking back from the store and I felt them at first. When I looked up I saw two of those...monsters running somewhere." He looked up to Ichigo. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to piss you off but I just wanted to ask Inoue-san about it. I didn't know you were back to normal."

Orihime glanced at Ichigo when Keigo said that. She was kinda worried how he would take being called a shinigami normal but his handsome face never showed any annoyance of it. His amber eyes were still focused on Keigo and an understanding look graced his features.

She was glad. It seemed he really was okay with being this way again.

"Don't worry about it Keigo. Yeah, we know they're here and I'm dealing with them."

Keigo placed his hand to his chest and flopped back onto the ground. "Kami, that's a relief!"

Orihime couldn't help but giggle at his actions.

Ichigo smirked. "Glad you feel that way 'cause Ikkaku and Yumichika will be at your house tonight."

The boy jumped from the pavement, his eyes once again wide with fright. "What? No, no, no, no, no! Why do they have to stay with me!" he cried.

Ichigo leaned against the wall once again and crossed his arms. "Hey, I thought you'd be glad to have the protection."

"But they are the ones who like to torture me! Not to mention the fact that I'm going to have to deal with my crazy sister being all over Ikkaku again!"

"Orihime!" said girl turned around to see Tatsuki-chan calling for her.

"Excuse me everyone. I'm gonna go talk with Tatsuki-chan. I'll see you this evening Ichigo-kun, Ishida-kun, Sado-kun." she waved goodbye and ran over to meet Tatsuki before disappearing from the rooftop.

Now that he didn't have to worry about embarrassing the sweet girl Keigo turned back to his friend. "You do this to me on purpose don't you Ichigo?"

"Huh?"

"You are making me house those two lunatics becuase you thought I was going to hit on Orihime."

Keigo shouldn't have been worried about embarrassing Orihime, he should have been worried about Ichigo's fists.

* * *

"About time you got here."

That was the greeting Ichigo got from Rukia when he walked into Urahara's shop.

"Shut it. Why aren't you in school this time?"

"No point to it. Your friends already know I'm a shinigami and you have your badge so you have no need for me to get you out of your body. I can spend the time resting or looking for these damn Arrancars."

Ichigo silently agreed with her and went to sit at the table beside his other friends.

"Now that Kurosaki-san's here we can begin." Urahara said.

"Where's Ikkaku and Yumichika?" Ichigo asked.

"There out patrolling." Toshiro said as he came into the room. "We are going to keep two shinigami on patrol at all times."

"Okay. Now how about you tell me what you wouldn't last night."

Toshiro leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. He looked around the group of teens for a moment before landing his turquoise gaze on Rukia. He gave a slight nod and closed his eyes to listen to the tale.

"I'll tell you what happened. It's more appropiate since it was Rangiku-san and I who encountered the Arrancar."

"You did? Are you okay Rukia-chan?" Orihime asked the petite woman.

Rukia smiled a little at her friend. "Yes I'm fine Orihime. We found the Arrancar near the school."

Rangiku paused from sipping her tea. "More like he found us."

Rukia huffed a little. "Whatever. Anyway we fought for a little while before I was able to partially freeze him with my Juhaku. We questioned the Arrancar at length but he wouldn't tell us much."

"What did he tell you?" Ishida's intelligent blue eyes landed on her.

Rukia and Rangiku looked at each other before the buxom woman continued the story.

"The only thing he told us is what they are after here. He wouldn't say why nor how many Arrancar's there were left. Unfortunately, he got out of Rukia's Juhaku and attacked us again. In the end we wound up having to kill him."

"You still haven't told us why they're here." Ichigo said. His eyebrows were drawn farther down in annoyance.

Rukia looked up at the pair of bright haired teens. Her words were firm but her eyes showed the sorrow she felt. "They are after you and Orihime."

The room was encased in silence for a few moments before the sounds of Ishida, Ichigo, and Sado firing questions and arguing loudly filled the air.

Rukia ignored them to study Orihime.

She hadn't said anything about the information. She sat there with such a blank look on her face that Rukia couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking.

Was she worried? Scared? Rukia was sure she would have been terrified at the information but as she observed her she never showed a single shred of fear.

Had she been to stunned by the news to process it?

The petite shinigami tried to get her attention. "Orihime?"

The boys stopped their rants to look at the beauty.

Orihime didn't look up from the table and showed no signs she had heard Rukia.

Ichigo sat back down next to her. He couldn't tell what she was thinking. She didn't look scared, her body wasn't tense, and her reitasu was as clam as usual.

"Orihime?" This time he called to her.

She still didn't look up at them but she finally answered; her voice was nothing more than a whisper. "I don't understand."

The group remained quiet, willing her to continue.

"I just don't understand what they want with me. At least with Aizen, I knew what he wanted. But what could they possibly want?" she looked to Rukia and the smaller shinigami felt her heart ache for the girl.

Orihime didn't look just look scared, she was also worried, confused, and Rukia was pretty sure she also saw guilt leak into her grey eyes.

She reached for the healer's hands across the table. "Orihime, we may not know what they want right now but we are going to find out. Don't worry, we are all going to be here and we are going to make sure...**I** am going to make sure you don't go anywhere again."

Apparently this was the wrong choice of words because the young woman lowered her head and began to cry.

"Rukia!" Ichigo yelled at his friend.

"What? What did I say?"

"Ichigo, back off!" Renji yelled.

"All of you stop it!"

Everyone looked to Orihime with wide eyes.

She was now standing by the table, her hands clenched so tightly her knuckles were turning white, and her shoulders were shaking with emotion. Tears raced down her cheeks as the group watched her in shock.

"What do you think happened Rukia-chan? Do you really think Ulquiorra dragged me to Hueco Mundo kicking and screaming? Do you think he knocked me out and kidnapped me?"

Orihime couldn't stop herself. She was getting close to dangerous grounds with her words but it was just too much for her.

The Arrancar were back and they wanted her? Again?

Why?

The hyogoku was gone...Aizen was gone...what could they possibly want with her?

It was happening again.

If they demanded it of her again could she do it? Could she leave her home and accept her death to save her friends lives once more?

Tears poured down her face as she though of that hell.

Leaving everyone she had ever loved behind, walking towards Ulquiorra knowing she was walking to her death.

Sitting in that room listening to them discuss her as some 'pet' to train.

Feeling her friends go down one by one.

Having the Arrancar stare at her with such hate, she could practically feel how much they wanted to hurt her just when they looked at her.

Knowing she was the reason Ichigo-kun had died.

Her knees were buckling and she felt herself falling but she never hit the floor. A pair of warm arms wrapped around her and she threw herself against the body that held her.

Ichigo held her tight to him as she cried.

He hated this.

He hated this so damn much.

He buried his own head into her silky locks.

They were after her again. Had she not already been through enough in her life? Why had she been given these damn powers if they were gonna make her a target all the time?

Everyone else in the room was silent as they watched the two hold on to each other.

Her crying stopped but Ichigo continued to hold her; stroking her back as he had done the week before.

"I know."

She tried to lift her head when he spoke but he held her firm to his chest.

"I know why you left."

She clutched his back tighter.

"Ulquiorra told me he forced you to go to Hueco Mundo. He told me he had set you up to look like a traitor." His words were spoken so softly as if meant for her ears only but they carried such emotion she could feel the tears welling back up in her eyes. "I know you would have never went willingly with him. Not even for your own life. But...maybe...maybe if he threatened something important to you."

He pulled back from her only enough to force her eyes to meet his.

"You did it to protect us didn't you?"

She met his steady gaze and clutched at his shirt. She had to swallow a few times to even speak. When she did it was no more than a whisper.

"Yes."

Ichigo pulled her to him again. He knew he shouldn't be holding her like this and he would have to apologize later but for now he felt like he needed to be as close to her as possible. If he kept his hands on her no on could take her away again.

"Don't you do it again." he said.

"Huh?"

He pulled back from her again and gripped her shoulders tightly as his fierce gaze stared into her own.

"Do. Not. Leave. Again. Do you hear me? I don't care what they threaten you with, do not go with them. You come to me. No, fuck that! You're not going to be alone to give them the chance. I **will **protect you."

Orihime knew she'd probably have bruises tomorrow from the grip he had on her shoulders but she didn't care.

All that mattered was his warm brown eyes, filled with determination, and his strong presence that surrounded her.

"Swear it to me Orihime. I wanna hear you say the words."

Maybe, just maybe, this time would be different.

She was different too now.

She wasn't as weak as she was before. She would fight beside them; and though she knew Ichigo-kun would do whatever it took to protect her and everyone else, she wouldn't be a hindrance to him.

She wouldn't let it go like it did last time. Never again would she watch as her friends nearly died in front of her eyes.

She swore this to herself.

She finally gave him a small smile. "I promise I won't go with them no matter what."

Ichigo searched her stormy eyes and was pleased to see the truth of her words.

The sound of Urahara's fan snapping closed made the two teens notice their proximity and they broke apart; similar blushes on both of their faces.

"Glad you brought that up Kurosaki-san. Orihime-chan..."

Ichigo interrupted him. "Don't you dare tell her to stay out of things!"

The shopkeeper regarded him with narrowed eyes. "I have no intention of doing that. I learned my mistake the first time and I don't want Orihime-chan in any more danger than she already is."

Ichigo seemed appeased by his answer and nodded to the shop keeper.

"What I was going to say was I want her to be more vigilant of her surroundings, and I agree with you that she shouldn't be alone. As a matter of fact, I think everyone should pair up for the time being. Just as we are doing with the patrolling units. We don't need a repeat of the events that occurred with Aizen."

Everyone thought over Urahara's words and agreed with his reasoning.

"Good. Yoruichi-san should return from Soul Society next week sometime and once we fill her in on the events we will be able to increase the patrols or cut down on some of the time everyone will have to devote to it."

Ishida's quizzical gaze turned onto Urahara. "Why is Yoruichi-san in Soul Society? I didn't think she like to spend her time there."

Urahara unfurled his fan, holding it over the lower half of his face, "Yes, but Sui-Feng has always been important to her. She has needed Yoruichi-san's support for this past year."

"May I ask why?" Sado asked.

Urahara lowered his fan. "She has not felt she was still capable of preforming her duties as captain. Yoruichi-san has had to work with her and convince her not to resign."

"But Sui-Feng is an amazing captain!" Orihime exclaimed. "Why would she think she couldn't keep doing her job?"

A placating smile appeared on Urahara's face. "Aah, but Orihime-chan. It's difficult to properly wield your Zanpakuto with only one hand."

Gasp's were heard from around the table. No one knew quite what to say.

"When...was..." Ishida tried to ask.

"During the fight with Barraggan, the Segundo Espada. Captain Commander Yamamato lost his left arm as well, but he seems to be fairing better than Sui-Feng."

The group of teens looked around the room at the shinigami present. Their forlorn faces told them that what Urahara spoke was the truth. They all had known that their allies had been injured but none of them had none to what extent.

The group was silent, trying to process the information they had been given.

Though, one member was upset.

"Why! Why didn't any of you come get me?" Orihime screamed to the shinigami.

"There was nothing left on them to heal, Inoue-san." Toshiro explained.

"So? That doesn't mean I still can't help them!"

The white haired captain's eyebrows raised and his jaw lowered a bit at her claims.

"Wait, Orihime-chan...are you telling me you can - what? regrow their limbs?" Rangiku asked, astonishment clearly written on her face.

"Yes! It's not the first time I've done it." the girl exclaimed.

"It's true." Ishida now had everyone's attention. "I had my left hand amputated during the battles in Hueco Mundo and Inoue-san was able to heal it for me." Ishida held up his hand and flexed his fingers for the disbelieving shinigami.

Ichigo turned his head away from the sight. He still couldn't forgive himself for what happened, even if he couldn't remember it.

"But Inoue, it's been over a year now. Would you still be able to do it?" Renji asked.

The girl placed a finger to the corner of her mouth as she thought. "I don't see why not. I've healed similar injuries before without knowing how long they had been removed." she didn't feel the need to tell them it had been an Espada she had treated at the time.

"That's wonderful Orihime! Would you still be willing to go and heal them?" Rukia asked.

Orihime laughed. "Of course! but..." her eyebrows lowered a little at an attempt to look upset with them again. "I still can't believe you all didn't come get me. Poor Sui-Feng-san. I could have helped her out so long ago and spared her this heartache."

The shinigami's faces fell once again.

"We had no idea Orihime. Even after all I've seen you do I would have never thought you could, well for lack of a better word, regrow someone's hand." Rukia said.

"It's okay Rukia-chan. I just feel so bad for Sui-Feng-san and the commander. When do you think we could go to Soul Society?"

"Captain?" Rangiku directed her question to her white haired captain.

"I need to go back to Soul Society and ask permission to open a gate, so how about the middle of the week?"

"Wonderful!" Orihime clasped her hands to her chest in relief. "That will also give me time to do something else I need to."

"What's that Inoue-san?" Ishida asked.

"It's been a few weeks but I think I need to go see Hachi-san again."

"Weeks?" Ichigo turned to her, shock evident in his features. "What have you been going to Hachi for?"

"He trains me." Once again she had the attention of the whole room, and from the looks of it she had shocked everyone. "He says that my reiatsu is similar to his own, so since we are similar in power he has been working with me to strengthen my powers and abilities."

"That's good Inoue-dono. You can trust Hachi-san. He is a good man." Tessai said.

Orihime smiled at him. "He told me you were once very good friends, but it seemed to be a sore subject so I didn't ask him anything further."

She couldn't see his eyes because of his glasses but she sensed the sadness come from him. "Yes, it is." he paused in his speech and seemed to collect himself before he continued. "He was my vice-captain in the Kido Corps. Believe me you can trust him."

Orihime smiled and thanked him. She was very glad to be able to work with Hachi but having Tessai-san approve it made her even happier.

An akward silence seemed to descend on the group.

"Well I have to say I hope I never see that again."

"What do you mean Renji?" Rukia asked.

"A concerned, caring, sensitive Ichigo? I felt sick for a moment watching that. I hope I just dreamed it all."

Rukia almost wanted to punch him for his insensitive words but she knew he was just trying to cheer everyone up.

"Oh, is that so? Maybe I'll help you wake up." Ichigo launched himself at Renji and the two began fighting.

With that, the all too serious atmosphere was dispelled and the group began talking like normal.


	9. Chapter 9

Ichigo kicked a stray rock in the road and shoved his hands further into his pockets as he traveled the familiar path to the warehouse.

It wasn't that he didn't _like _the group of vizards but most of them were just so annoying!

"Ichigo-kun, you don't have to come with me." Orihime said from his side.

"Orihime, you agreed, along with everyone else, that we should stay in pairs for the time being. It's too dangerous with the Arrancar running around."

She sighed, "I know that but I could have gotten Ishida-kun or Sado-kun to come with me. It's just that, well, you don't look to happy about going."

"It's okay. I just...Shinji and that damn brat Hiyori love to piss me off."

Orihime giggled. "Hiyori-chan is a bit abrasive but I think Shinji-kun is nice."

_Yeah, to you maybe but I bet it's because he still hits on you. Great, now I'm even more pissed off. _

As they approached the warehouse they noticed the barrier was up.

"I wonder what they have the barrier up for?"

"No idea. Great, how are we gonna get in? I guess if I hit it a few times one of them will come out to see who's doing it." Ichigo said.

"That's not necessary Ichigo-kun. Come on." she held her hand out to him.

Ichigo stared at her hand for a moment before grasping it in his larger one. He tried not to think, once again, how smooth her skin was.

He watched as she stepped through the barrier effortlessly and pulled him gently along.

He expected to get repelled but he slipped through as well. Once they were through she let go of his hand and he had to suppress the desire to grab it once again.

"I don't have any problems getting through barriers Hachi-san puts up. That's how I got through when I came to find you the first time I met them."

Ichigo looked at her in surprise but didn't say anything.

The teens heard a large explosion from below the floor and they made their way to the staircase. Halfway down they could hear the argument that was going on.

"Oi, watch where you're firing that thing! And put it away already, you heard Hachi, they'll be down here in a second."

"Well, maybe if you hadn't said that shit I wouldn't have to go and kick your ass!"

"You can't even take a joke!"

"Joke! Why you..."

"Shinji, Hiyori cut it out you two."

Ichigo mentally sighed at the argument. If they were already fired up before he even got there this was gonna be even more bothersome.

As they came to the bottom of the stairs he saw the entire group was waiting for them.

"Hello everyone!" Orihime greeted everyone enthusiastically.

"Ah, Orihime-chan. So wonderful to see you again." Shinji said. "It's been too long since you last came to see us. I know you're a smart girl but I'm starting to question that thought at your choice of company."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes to the other vizard and was gonna lash at him with a scathing remark but Orihime's giggling stopped him.

"That's not very nice Shinji-kun. I know you're happy to see Ichigo-kun, there's no need to hide it."

Shinji turned his head. "Whatever, I could have went without it."

"That's my line bastard. This wasn't exactly my idea." Ichigo replied.

"You could have just let Orihime-chan come in alone. Her I always want to see but you..." Shinji pointed his finger at Ichigo and allowed the sentence to trail off.

Ichigo walked closer to Shinji. "As if I'm gonna let her come in here alone."

Shinji smiled. "Oh, I don't see why not. She's been coming here alone for a long time now. I always look forward to her company." he smirked at Ichigo and, as he wanted, it fired Ichigo up.

"You son of a bitch." he launched himself at Shinji and the pair started fighting.

Orihime sighed as she went to sit next to Hachi-san.

"That didn't take them long." the large man said.

"I know. I was hoping they wouldn't do this."

She heard a chuckle and saw Love coming to sit beside her. "Let them go at it. This is what they do. It's how they say 'Hey' after so long."

She sighed again. "I know but goodness they can be so violent. I hope they don't hurt each other too badly."

"They won't. Not that I'm not happy to see you Orihime-chan but what brings you here today?" Hachi asked.

"I'm guessing you've already felt their presence or seen them since the barrier was up?"

"Yeah, we did a few days ago." Love responded.

"Well, it's about that."

* * *

Ichigo rolled his shoulders and made his way over to where Orihime was practicing with Hachi.

His fight with Shinji had gone on for a long time. He had pulled his shinigami form out not long into the spar. He had not used his mask but neither had Shinji.

"Good to see you're back to normal Ichigo." Shinji remarked from his side.

"Yeah, especially with these bastards running around."

"How'd you get your powers back anyway?"

A voice from the side answered the question. "Orihime restored them even though she was dying."

Ichigo turned his head to see Lisa sitting on a rock reading her erotic manga like usual.

"Dying? What the fuck?" Shinji cried.

"Long story but yeah she healed me."

"Forget that. How the fuck did she get hurt so bad?"

Ichigo told him everything as they sat and watched Orihime and Hachi. In return, Shinji told him how Orihime had come to them almost nine months ago to ask Hachi to train her.

Hachi, of course, agreed and she came as much as she could to improve her control over her powers. The other vizards, besides Shinji, had been a little reluctant to have her around training but the first thing she did when she arrived was heal Hachi's hand that he had amputated during his fight with the Espada.

No one had a problem after that. They had been impressed at her growth in her training.

Ichigo sat watching, extremely impressed, as she manipulated her shield to lengthen, widen, and even change shape from it's normal triangle.

"Okay Orihime-chan, lets take a break. Your control seems stronger than ever." Hachi said.

"Thank you Hachi-san."

The group sat around talking for a while until someone brought up the subject of Ichigo's hollow.

"Yeah, he's still around." the teen grudginly admitted.

"Well pull your mask out idiot. I wanna see if your control is still as shitty as it used to be." Hiyori remarked.

Ichigo looked over to Orihime. She was watching him, but no fear or anxiety was in her eyes. Simple curiosity sat in her gaze.

Ichigo, however, was a little worried. He had only used his mask a couple of times after the fight on the dome and his control was horrible then. He didn't know how it would be now.

"Oi, what are you waiting for?" Shinji said.

This would be the perfect area to test it. If anything went wrong the other vizards would be able to stop him. With a last look at Orihime he concentrated and pulled from his hollow's reiatsu.

Ichigo was tensed with worry as he felt the bone taking shape over his face. He stood perfectly still, waiting to see how his hollow would react.

_**"What the hell are you so nervous for? Quit that shit! It's fucking up my world in here."**_

_"I was waiting on you dumbass! I didn't know if you were gonna cause me trouble again!"_

_**"You're such a fucking idiot. We've already dealt with this shit after I kicked that Espada's ass. Now snap out of it! You're worrying the queen."**_

Ichigo nearly lost it after hearing him say queen, knowing who he was talking about; but when he looked at Orihime he realized she was worried about him. He hadn't moved for a while and he knew he was scaring her.

"Ichigo, what happened to your mask? It's different from before." Shinji asked, none of his normal teasing tone was present.

"It changed after Hueco Mundo." he stated.

"Why? What happened?"

Ichigo didn't answer him but instead looked back to Orihime. She was staring at her hands that were clasped tightly in her lap.

He didn't want to tell them what happened. Talking about it wouldn't only upset her more. Besides, it wasn't like he really knew what happened.

Even though his hollow knew what was going on all the time, when he took over Ichigo didn't know what was happening. If they talked about the incident on the dome, it would have to be Orihime who told the tale and Ichigo wouldn't put her through that. Besides, he wanted to find out himself, alone, before anyone else heard it.

"Don't worry about it. I thought you wanted to test me Shinji?"

Before the other could reply Ichigo flash stepped over to him and kicked him away from the group. Shinji pulled on his mask and the two started fighting again.

"Orihime-chan? Are you okay?" Hachi asked.

She took a deep breath before replying. "I'm okay Hachi-san."

It had taken her a moment to collect herself once Ichigo had pulled on his mask.

She had seen his mask several times before and this one was indeed different. The twin red lines that ran down the length of bleached bone, across his eyes startled her. It had looked so much like the mask his hollow had worn on the dome that she couldn't help but be terrified for a moment; especially when he wasn't moving.

When he finally moved and spoke, she was able to compose herself.

He was okay. It was him in control no matter what his mask looked like.

She sat back and watched as Ichigo and Shinji fought. It wasn't long before Shinji was tagging out with Hiyori.

The fighting went on and on, until all the vizards, except Hachi, had fought with Ichigo. His mask hadn't broken once.

"Damn, I guess you have gotten better." Shinji admitted.

"What did you expect? That I wouldn't be able to keep it on longer than I used to?"

"I wasn't expecting you to run through all of us! Hell, you are slow to catch on sometimes."

"What was that?" Ichigo started to go after Shinji again but Orihime called out to him.

"Ichigo-kun? It's getting late."

He stopped his pursuit of Shinji and returned to his body. "Yeah, we should get going."

"Orihime-chan, please be careful and come back anytime okay?" Hachi said as he bowed to her.

She returned the gesture and gave him one of her dazzling smiles. "Thank you so much Hachi-san. You be careful as well okay? All of you."

The teens bid farewell to everyone and began the journey to Orihime's apartment.

* * *

"Well, that went better than I expected." Ichigo said after they were away from the warehouse.

"It was pretty fun. I'm glad I saw everyone again, it's been a while since I was there last." Orihime replied.

Ichigo knew Rangiku and Toshiro would be waiting for them at her apartment so the only time he would have alone with her was now. He had so much he needed to talk to her about. He would take whatever opportunity he was presented with.

"Shinji told me you started going there a while back. Why did you?"

"Well, I wasn't really using Tsubaki-kun as well as I thought I could. I remembered Hachi-san said our powers were similar so I went to see if he would work with me. He agreed and I got better at controlling my powers after working with him."

"Why were you using Tsubaki in the first place?" she turned her head to glance at him, the question was evident in her eyes. "Let me try that again. What were you using Tsubaki for? Have you been getting attacked?"

Her features relaxed again after he clarified his statement. "Sometimes. The hollows aren't as bad as they used to be but they still come around."

He still hadn't gotten the answer he wanted so he was going to have to be more direct. "Orihime, I heard you talking with Karin. Have you been protecting my family from the hollows?"

She looked over to him. She couldn't see his face clearly but something about the tone of his voice sounded almost like he had been...ashamed. "Well, yeah a few times. The hollows have come after Karin before and sometimes I could feel them heading towards your house. After practicing I've become able to just send Tsubaki-kun out to destroy it without having to leave home myself. Sometimes I could feel your father's reiatsu and I knew he was at home as well. I knew it would be difficult for him to leave and take care of the hollow without Yuzu-chan wondering what was going on so I just decided to take care of it myself."

Ichigo was silent for a while as he processed her statement. When he did speak, he still couldn't look at her.

"I'm sorry."

Orihime was surprised. He sounded so sad she couldn't help but put her hand on his arm and stop him. "Why are sorry about that Ichigo-kun?"

He finally turned to face her. "You shouldn't have to protect my family. That's my job."

A small, understanding smile spread across her lips. "I know, but until you were able to do so again I didn't mind helping out. Besides, I love your sisters and your father. Your family is full of wonderful people who have never been nothing but nice to me. How could I not want to help keep them safe?"

"Yeah, but..."

"Besides, you have always protected me, and gotten so hurt sometimes doing so. I will never be able to repay you for what you've done for me. Helping to keep your important people safe is the least I could do."

He grabbed her shoulders and stared down into her eyes. "Dammit Orihime **you **are one of my most important people!"

She gasped softly, but he still heard it, and stared up at him with those large, expressive eyes of hers.

He hadn't meant to do that. The statement was true, he wasn't going to retract it, but he hadn't meant to grab her and get so riled up. He couldn't help it though.

The thought of her being in danger, even when she was protecting his family, upset him. Besides, she shouldn't be protecting his family, that's what he was supposed to do.

Granted, he wasn't really in a position the past year to do so but his dad shouldn't have been protecting them in his place. He was sure his father had been doing so, but other times Orihime had stepped up and protected them.

He couldn't get mad at her though.

He was glad his family was kept safe, but it still irritated him that he never knew how much danger they had been in. How much danger Orihime had been in.

His grip on her shoulders tightened unconsciously.

He couldn't stand to let her get hurt. Dammit...didn't she know? Didn't she realize how important she was to him?

His entire body went stiff as the words he had spoken to himself settled in.

_Oh..._

_Shit..._

Without even knowing, without ever realizing it, he had answered his own questions about his feelings for her.

"Ichigo-kun?" her soft voice broke through his confusion and he looked at her. His grip loosened but he didn't pull away.

Her head was tilted slightly as she studied his face, as though trying to figure out what he was thinking.

He watched her eyes blink slowly and was entranced by how long and thick her lashes were. He swallowed heavily.

He was frozen in place. It was as if his entire world had just been shifted by his inner revelation.

He cared for her.

Deeply.

_Shit, shit, shit. What am I supposed to do now? Dammit! I have no fucking idea what to say. _

"Ichigo-kun, are you alright?"

He took a slow deep breath and tried to find the words to say. "I...umm...Orihime..."

"Yo, Ichigo!"

Ichigo cursed aloud at the interruption. He turned his glare on Ikkaku and Yumichika who now stood across from them.

He took another deep breath to calm down. He was both grateful and pissed off at the pair.

This was not the time to do...well...whatever the hell he was about to do with Orihime. Truth was, he still wasn't sure about what was going to come out of his mouth at that moment. For now, he had to keep her safe. He had not even felt the pair of shinigami approaching because he had been so wrapped up in his newly discovered feelings for the healer and that was not good.

He couldn't afford to be caught off guard if an Arrancar approached. He had to try and forget these feelings for now. Keeping her safe was the most important thing at the moment.

"Ikkaku, what are you guys doing here?"

"We were just patrolling when we felt your reiatsu. Yours too Orihime-chan. We just wanted to come see what you guys were up to." Ikkaku said.

Yumichika walked up to Orihime. "Good evening, Orihime-chan. You are most beautiful tonight."

A pretty blush graced her features. "Thank you Yumichika-san."

He smiled. "My, my, you are even more beautiful when you blush."

This only caused her to blush deeper and Ikkaku laughed. "Yumichika rarely refers to anyone as beautiful Orihime-chan. It's high praise indeed."

Ichigo stood calmly through their conversation, desperately willing his features to remain neutral. He wanted to throw Yumichika away from Orihime and hurry the both of them back to her apartment. They were lucky they were his friends or else he might have acted on that impulse.

"Oh, I wanted to give my report to Hitsugaya-taichou anyway so we'll join you."

"Huh? Join us for what?" Ichigo hadn't been paying attention and was confused by Ikkaku's statement.

"We're gonna walk back to Orihime-chan's place with you so we can give our report to the taichou." Yumichika responded.

Ichigo fumed silently as the pair fell in step behind him and Orihime.

He still had things to talk to her about and he just lost his chance for the night.

* * *

Orihime tried, unsuccessfully, once again to curb her nervousness. Ever since she had arrived at school that morning she had been so nervous over meeting her best friend.

She hadn't done anything wrong and Tatsuki-chan wasn't upset with her...yet, but she had forgotten to tell her something important.

She was going to Soul Society tomorrow.

Tatsuki-chan was not going to be happy.

Since the incident with Aizen, Tatsuki had been more protective than ever over Orihime. Going to Soul Society, where Tatsuki couldn't go, was not going to please the karate champion at all.

"Inoue-san."

Orihime yelped and turned around so fast Ishida thought she was going to fall. She somehow managed to keep her balance and flushed furiously once she saw who it was.

"Ishida-kun. I'm sorry but you startled me." her hand was against her chest as she tried to control her breathing.

"Forgive me Inoue-san. I didn't mean to. What are you so on edge about?" the Quincy asked.

"Oh, nothing much." she tried to avoid answering him but he just continued to watch her. She sighed, her friends knew her too well. "Alright, I'm waiting to meet Tatsuki-chan for lunch and I need to tell her something."

"Ah, you've yet to tell her your going to Soul Society tomorrow haven't you?" a small smile graced his normal stoic face.

"Yes, and I just know she's going to be so mad at me!"

"Not mad Inoue-san, just worried. Perhaps if you let her know Kurosaki will be joining you she'll be a bit more relieved?"

Orihime sighed again and leaned against the tree where they normally sat for lunch. "I can only hope so. I just really don't want Tatsuki-chan to get mad at me."

"What would I be mad at you for?"

Orihime whipped her head around to find Tatsuki standing not two feet from her. _I was so nervous I didn't even notice her coming up behind me!_

Orihime laughed a little, to try and cover her nervousness. "Oh nothing much Tatsuki-chan. How are your classes today?" she hoped to avoid the subject as long as she could.

"If you'll excuse me I believe I will leave you two alone to talk." Ishida said and left the pair.

Orihime tried to call him back but he was long gone.

"Orihime, stop avoiding me. What do you think I'm gonna get upset over?" Tatsuki said.

The healer turned to her friend. "I'm sorry Tatsuki-chan. It's just that I have something I have to do tomorrow so I'm not gonna be at school."

Tatsuki raised her eyebrows at the girl. "Okay, that wouldn't upset me. Of course, you've not told me where you're going yet." she kept a stern gaze on the girl.

Orihime started fidgeting under her stare. She hated to do this. "Well, you see Tatsuki-chan. There are some people who are hurt and they really need my help so I'm gonna go see them tomorrow and do whatever I can for them."

Neither party said anything. Orihime wasn't looking at Tatsuki but she could feel her eyes still on her. She hated upsetting Tatsuki but she had to help the injured shinigami!

She knew Tatsuki was only upset because she was worried for her. She had disappeared on her once and Tatsuki was afraid it would happen again.

Orihime also knew that it was the powerless feeling that Tatsuki hated the most. She had no power against the hollows or Arrancar and she couldn't help Orihime if she did get into trouble again. It made Tatsuki feel helpless and that only pissed her off.

"Where are you going Orihime?" her voice was low and very controlled but Orihime could feel the tension in it.

She kept her eyes on the ground. "Soul Society."

The martial artist didn't say anything but she didn't have to. They had been friends long enough to read the other's emotions well and Orihime knew she was mad.

Mad, but also very, very worried.

"Orihime, you know I don't like this."

"I know Tatsuki-chan! I know! That's why I was so worried when I thought about telling you."

Tatsuki's voice raised and she had her hands on her hips. "What if something happens! What if you get attacked again! Isn't that where you got taken from the first time?"

"Please don't worry about that Tatsuki-chan! I'm not going alone. I'm gonna be..."

"Oi, what are you two arguing about?"

Orihime let out a sigh of relief when she heard Ichigo's voice. She turned around and smiled at him. "Ichigo-kun! Thank goodness you're here."

He was momentarily stunned by her smile and the relief in her voice. "What's going on? Ishida told me I needed to come see you."

"Please, please help me convince Tatsuki-chan that everything will be okay tomorrow."

"Wait, Ichigo is going with you?" Tatsuki's surprised voice interrupted the bright haired teens.

"Of course I am!" Ichigo exclaimed. "What? Did you think I was just gonna let her trot off to Soul Society by herself?"

Tatsuki's face relaxed and she lowered her hands again. "Well, if that's the case then by all means go ahead." She enjoyed watching their faces as they stared in disbelief at her quick change in attitude.

"Huh? Just like that?" Orihime finally asked.

"Orihime, who else can I trust you with if not him? If it's Ichigo then I have no problem handing you over."

He flushed under her words but for a different reason entirely.

"Oh." Orihime was quiet for a moment and Tatsuki didn't even want to know what she was thinking to make her stare go blank for that second. "Well that's great Tatsuki-chan. Rukia-chan will be around Urahara-san's shop and even if something did happen we could contact her and she will find you."

"Good. Well if that's settled then let's eat." she linked her arm with Orihime and the two started to walk off, until they noticed the absence of one scowling young man.

"What's the matter Ichigo-kun?"

How could he answer her? There's no way he could tell her his brain had shut down.

"Uh...nothing. I'm coming." He regained his composure enough to follow behind the women but one thought kept rolling around his mind.

_Tatsuki has no problem giving her to me, huh?_


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Just to take a moment and thank everyone for their wonderful reviews! Knowing you love this story as much as I do makes me so happy and keeps me writing! **

**nypsy, Somerlia, EternalRoses, nisey610, JammersFlood,...I apologize for leaving anyone out but thank you all so much for your reviews. I hope I can continue to produce chapters you love. **

**Enough of that, enjoy the story!**

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Orihime stepped closer to Ichigo as they walked through the senkaimon to Soul Society. She couldn't help the unease she felt at once again being in the tunnel, even though Ichigo and Toshiro were with her. The last time she was in one Ulquiorra nearly killed the two shinigami that were with her and gave her the order to come with him.

Ichigo looked down to Orihime's face when she moved closer to him. She looked somewhat scared. He still wasn't entirely sure about the details of her capture but Ukitake had told them at that time that the last time he saw her was when she entered the senkaimon, and she never made it back to them.

She could have been captured then, but...that didn't explain how he had felt her reiatsu surrounding his hand and how he had been healed. Still, with as scared as she was _something _had happened in here.

"It's okay Orihime." she looked up when he spoke to her and he could now clearly see the fear in her gaze. "You don't have to worry. We're not going to let anything happen to you."

He had spoken low, so that just she could hear him and she was so thankful for that. She didn't want to let them know how scared she was to be back in the senkaimon but she couldn't help it. Everytime she heard something she was scared it was an Arrancar coming back for her.

She offered him a tenative smile and was just glad to feel his reiatsu around her. Ichigo stepped a little closer to her and she blushed as their shoulders brushed against each other; but neither moved away.

"We're here." Toshiro's voice called from the front. Only he had accompanied them to Soul Society. Everyone else stayed in Karakura to defend it against any Arrancar that showed up.

Ukitake was standing in wait for them at the gate. Orihime was glad to finally be free of the oppressing senkaimon and smiled at the shinigami she hadn't seen in a long time. She was surprised though, when Ukitake didn't return her smile and instead bowed low to her.

"I'm so sorry Orihime-san. Please forgive me."

"Forgive you? For what?" she asked.

Ukitake raised his head and looked and the gentle girl. "For not being better prepared. For not accompanying you and allowing you to be taken while under our watch."

She smiled gently at him. "Please don't worry about that Ukitake-san. It's better that you didn't come with me." His face, as well as Ichigo and Toshiro's showed their confusion. "If you had come with me you would have been drawn into a fight with Ulquiorra. As it was, he merely attacked the guards you had sent with me but since he didn't feel they were a threat to him he didn't stop me as I healed them. With your reiatsu, he probably would have continued to fight you until one of you was dead. As it was, even though I had to go with him to Hueco Mundo, no one was hurt. It was for the best that way."

It was the true way she felt, and even though she felt Ichigo's reiatsu spike at her statement she wouldn't apologize. Her capture was less important than someone dying.

Ukitake finally smiled back at her. "I'm just so glad you are alright now Orihime-san. Ichigo-kun, please try to lower your reiatsu unless you want Kenpachi thinking you're ready for a rematch with him."

Ichigo paled a bit and hurried to lower his reiatsu. "Damn, forgot about his crazy ass. Thanks Ukitake."

"Anytime. Now, Orihime-san the captain commander would like you to immediatley come to the meeting room."

Ichigo was quick to step slightly in front of Orihime. "I'm not letting her go alone. I **will **be coming with you."

Ukitake hid his surprise ,and smile, and reassured the substitute shinigami. "Of course Ichigo-kun. You are welcome to accompany Orihime."

Ichgio nodded his head and fell in step behind the white haired captain. He felt his hollow snicker but he ignored him and pushed him back into the far recesses of his mind.

* * *

Ichgio tensed as they entered the meeting hall. All of the captains were lined along the walls and the captain commander was standing at the front of the room. He moved closer to Orihime. He didn't like this. It was as if she were on parade for them. He could see Kurotsuchi watching her with poorly veiled interest.

"Do not be worried Kurosaki Ichigo." the captain commander addressed him. "No one here has any intention of harming your friend."

Ichigo watched the commander closely. He didn't seem to be lying but Ichigo was still not convinced. Orihime stood beside him, head held high but remaining silent. "The last time, you spoke of her as a traitor."

The commander opened his eyes a bit and watched the pair. "And you reacted as I knew you would."

"Huh?" Ichigo did not bother to hide the surprise he felt.

"I never thought Inoue Orihime betrayed us."

Ichigo and Orihime both were floored by his admission. While Orihime was genuinely shocked at his faith in her, Ichigo was pissed.

"If you didn't think she had betrayed Soul Society then why in the hell wouldn't you let me go after her! Why did you send the others back home!" he screamed at the commander. In an instant Soifon was in front of him.

"Calm yourself Kurosaki Ichigo. Do not make me subdue you." her voice carried the weight of a warrior who could and would do anything to protect her commander. Even without her left arm she was a force to be reckoned with.

"I want his answer." Ichigo stared directly into the commanders eyes as he spoke.

Orihime had been silent during this exchange. She was still stunned, no longer at the commander but at Ichigo. He had went against Soul Society to bring her back? This was something she had never known.

When she had felt Sado, Ishida, and Rukia's presence she had just assumed they had all been sent there to get her. She had thought that no one believed she had betrayed them, but from the conversation going on it seems the commander did in fact tell Ichigo she had turned sides and he had forbade Ichigo from coming after her.

Why would he do that? He could have gotten into so much trouble with the captains. He was strong but if they had truly wanted to stop him, they would have been able to do so.

She watched as the commander's eyes slowly met hers and she was surprised at the remorse they held. Her empathetic nature immediately wanted to console him and assure him she was okay. But...it didn't make sense. Why would he be sorry for stopping Ichigo from going after her?

She studied the man for a moment and started to notice things about him she had never seen before. Like the numerous scars that riddled his body, the lines that sat in his weathered face, she saw the stump that used to be his left hand. A hand, she had been told, he had lost due to throwing himself over his own fire just to protect Karakura. Her eyes met his again.

In that instant he just looked so tired, so old, and she understood.

Orihime left Ichigo's side and walked up to the captain commander. No one stopped her but she felt Soifon tense. When she arrived at his side she called out Shuno and Ayame and began to heal him.

She answered Ichigo's question to the commander for him. "The life of one person doesn't out weigh the life of many."

The commander's eyes widened before they softened yet again and he gave a small smile of thanks to her.

"What?" the question came from Ichigo but as she turned around she could feel the curious stares of all the captains on her.

"It's not that he thought I betrayed you. If he had sent you and the others into Hueco Mundo he would have been leaving Karakura unprotected from an attack that was imminent and that's not a call someone in his position can make. He has to think of what's best for the souls under his protection and sending a group of his best fighters after one person is not the right choice."

"Orihime, we're talking about your life! You are the one he made the decision to leave behind!"

"I realize that Ichigo-kun but I'm trying to make you see his position on this. It's not that I like the decision he made but I understand why he had to make it."

"Fuck that! You really think I would have just left you there regardless if it's one life or not?" he yelled at her.

"I knew you would not do that Kurosaki Ichigo." the commander addressed them again.

"Then why? Why forbid me to go after her?" Ichigo asked.

"As she said it is the decision I had to make as the commander. But," he continued on even though Ichigo tried to interrupt him. "I knew that if I told you not to go you would. You are still young and quite predictable."

Orihime giggled as a few of the captains laughed at the commanders words. Ichigo was blushing a bit and now had his arms crossed over his chest. He had scowl in place though it was more pronounced than usual.

Captain Kyoraku came up to Ichigo and clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't be so embarrassed Kurosaki-san, it's a testament to your abilities that the commander knowingly put you in a position to race into Hueco Mundo after the damsel in distress." he flashed his charming smile at Orihime as he said this.

Ichigo scoffed at him. "I'd feel better about that if it didn't come from someone wearing a pink kimono."

A few of them laughed again and Orihime felt the commanders hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw her shield was gone and the commander once again had both of his hands.

"Thank you Inoue Orihime. Your abilities are truly amazing."

"You're very welcome Captain Commander. Soifon-san? I can heal you now."

Soifon moved in front of Orihime and she was encased in her healing dome.

"That really is amazing Inoue-san. You are able to do what I have failed at." Unohana said.

"Thank you Unohana-san but really you are much more gifted than I am. Hanataro-kun has always spoken so highly of you" she replied with a smile.

"I am very fond of Hanataro myself." the captain said.

"Yes, what an amazing ability you possess woman. I don't suppose you would be interested in..."

"Back the fuck off Kurotsuchi!" Ichigo said as he came to stand behind Orihime.

The over-zealous scientist merely narrowed his eyes at the vizard. "I don't recall speaking to you human."

"Mayuri! Inoue Orihime is not to be harmed or threatened. None of the humans who fought beside Soul Society are. They are no longer ryoka." the captain commander released a bit of his reiatsu with his warning and Orihime struggled to keep standing upright.

Kurotsuchi turned around and went to leave the hall. "As you wish Captain Commander."

"Don't worry about him Orihime-san. He will not harm you but I fear he gets a little too worked up over things he wants to, umm...understand better." Ukitake said to her.

"Thank you Ukitake-san, but he had always been that way towards me. I have gotten used to it."

"Orihime-san." Shuno and Ayame gathered in front of her. "We are finished with Soifon-san."

The captain was staring at her newly formed hand as if she had never seen one before. "Soifon-san? Does it hurt?"

"No...it's just...I.." Soifon lowered her head slightly to the young woman. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome Soifon-san." she smiled at the captain.

"Well, if that's everything here how about we go get something to eat and let you see everyone else!" Kyoraku said.

"Oh that sounds wonderful!" Orihime exclaimed.

"Yeah I guess." Ichigo grudginly replied.

Before they could make it to the door they felt someone's reiatsu leak heavily over the area.

"Oi, Ichigo. You weren't trying to walk away from me were you?"

Ichigo gulped and turned around to meet the wide grin that split Kenpachi's face as he removed his eye patch.

* * *

Orihime tried not to wince as Yachiru-chan accidentally pulled her hair as she scooted around in her lap.

Ichigo had grabbed Orihime around the waist and flash stepped away from the meeting hall after Kenpachi tried to get him to fight. When they stopped Ichigo had barely taken his hands away from the girl before Yachiru launched herself at the auburn haired woman.

After she finished screaming her happiness at seeing "boobies" and "Icchi" again, she pulled the pair into a nearby 'cafe', Orihime thought for lack of a better term, and ordered some snacks. The small pink haired girl surprised her yet again by sitting in her lap while happily conversing with everyone.

"How are things in the world of the living Ichigo-san?" Hanataro asked. They had spotted him walking along the street and pulled him in to eat with them. Not long after, Hisagi and Kira came along to join them, claiming they had sensed Ichigo's reiatsu. Orihime was pretty sure a certain pink robe wearing captain was gossiping though.

"It's alright. Well, it was until the Arrancar decided to show back up."

"Yeah we heard. Everyone is on standby to swap out with the shinigami already there or to serve as back-up." Hisagi said.

"We appreciate it very much." Orihime replied and Ichigo noticed both men pinked a little at having her smiling face turn to them. He was thinking about pulling Zangetsu out when a hell's butterfly appeared at their table. Hanataro held out his finger for the message and his face paled.

"What is it Yamada-san?" Kira asked.

"I have to hurry back to the 4th squads headquarters. There has been an attack and many are injured." he hurried to gather his things and leave.

"Wait! What happened?" Ichigo said as he and the rest of the group fell in place behind him.

Hanataro called over his shoulder. "I'm not sure of the details but it seems an Arrancar caught a group of shinigami off guard."

"What? Here?" Hisagi said.

He didn't answer but increased his pace to headquarters. Thankfully they weren't very far away and entered the building quickly.

Orihime gasped at the sight around her. There were more than a dozen shinigami laying in the beds of the large treatment room. Most were gravely injured.

"Hanataro, we need your assistance quickly." Unohana said in her normal calm voice.

"Yes Captain!" he rushed to the nearest shinigami and began pouring his kido into the man's wounds.

"I normally wouldn't ask this of someone outside of squad four but we have many who are near death. Orihime-san would you mind helping us?" the captain asked.

"O...of course not!" she went to the bedside of the nearest shinigami unattended and was gasped at what she saw.

The shinigami looked very young, younger than Hanataro. His light brown hair was stained with blood from a horrible gash he had on his forehead. Flesh was partially melted away from the left side of his chest from a burn, she assumed from a cero. He was unconscious but his face still contorted with pain.

"Soten Kisshun" she called out her shield and rushed to heal the poor man.

"Captain Unohana, where were these men attacked?" Kira asked.

She turned to look at the men. "Outside of Rukongai I'm afraid."

Orihime paled. _They were attacked right outside of Seireitei? But...but...why? Why would an Arrancar attack Soul Society? That's suicide! _She ran different scenarios around her mind while she healed the shinigami until a thought struck her.

"Oh no." she whispered but she was still close enough to the others that they heard.

"What is it Orihime?" Ichigo asked.

She turned her tear filled eyes to him. "There after us. They came here after us. These men got hurt because of me."

"Orihime-san calm down please. It is a shinigami's duty to fight hollow and arrancar. We are prepared for injuries." Hisagi tried to calm down the upset young woman.

"Yes but this attack was sudden. It's because they followed our reiatsu. This is my fault." she lowered her head and allowed the tears to flow down her cheeks.

Ichigo put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. "Orihime, calm down. Just foucs on healing this guy."

She sniffled and raised her head. "You're right. I need to heal him. I need to heal them all because it's my fault they were hurt in the first place."

"Orihime..."

"Ayame!" Orihime cried and swung her hand to the side. Ayame followed her direction and suddenly the entire room was under her healing dome. Only herself, Ichigo, Hisagi, Kira, and Unohana were outside of it.

Ichigo turned her to face him. "Orihime! You're gonna wear yourself out!"

"I'll be fine. Let me do this, please." she knew he still wasn't happy about it but he allowed her to turn around and focus her reiatsu into her Soten Kisshun.

The others watched in awe as the injuries of the shinigami began closing. No one said anything as the healer worked to save everyone.

After a while she began to feel the effects of healing so many at once.

"Orihime-san!" Shuno cried out as Orihime's knees began to give way. Before she could hit the floor Ichigo wrapped his arms around her stomach and pulled her back into his chest.

She looked over her shoulder at him, her blush staining her cheeks. He wasn't looking at her but his face was red as well.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Y..yes. Sorry, I've just never healed this many people before and I'm getting tired much faster than usual." She was very proud of herself. Being able to string together a whole sentence while Ichigo's hands were around her stomach, holding her tight against his warm, strong chest was much more than she thought she'd be able to do.

"Don't worry about it. Just be careful okay? Let me know what I can do to help you." His warm brown eyes finally met hers and she was surprised at the tenderness he was showing her. He was always more gentle with her than the others but it was just...different this time. If she wasn't so tired she would have tried to figure it out.

She was grateful for his support as the time went on; she knew she could no longer hold her weight up on her own.

Toshiro came by to check on the wounded and was surprised to see Orihime healing everyone, though it was obviously taking it's toll on her. She seemed to be struggling to keep her eyes open and she was leaning heavily on Ichigo.

"Kurosaki. When she is finished here you can take her to Matsumoto's apartment. You can both stay there tonight. It would be to difficult to try and take her home and protect her. Besides, I do have some paperwork to finish up and I might as well do it while I'm here." Toshiro said.

"Thanks Toshiro. Could you call Urahara-san and let him know we won't be coming back tonight? Tatsuki will kill me when I get back if I don't let her know not to wait up."

Toshiro smirked at the boy. "I find it very amusing to know you are afraid of a human girl Kurosaki."

Ichigo glared back at him. "Really? I'll let Karin know how you feel when I get back home."

Toshiro stiffened then chastised himself for the reaction. He shot Ichigo a harsh glare then left.

When the last shinigami opened their eyes Orihime dispelled her technique. She took a few deep breaths and tried to stand on her own but it was too difficult. "I'm sorry Ichigo-kun." was all she could manage before she passed out in his arms.

He cradled her in his arms and left in the direction Toshiro told him Rangiku's place was located. He smiled as he heard her mumble in her sleep but when she snuggled deeper into his embrace he picked up his pace. He tried to get to Rangiku's apartment before anyone could see the deep red staining his face.

He finally reached the correct room and opened the door with the key Toshiro had given him. Once he stepped inside he froze.

Of course.

He should have known.

What the hell had he been thinking? He stared at the offending object and wondered if it was possible to hate and love something at the same time.

He kicked the door behind him closed and walked into the single room apartment.

He was gentle as he placed Orihime on the object of his frustrations.

The only bed in the room.

* * *

Orihime stretched her limbs slowly as she came awake. She opened her eyes and was immediately scared, she didn't recognize the room she was in. Her hands flew to her hairpins and she was about to call out her powers until she noticed a picture on the wall. She left the comfort of the bed and went to inspect it.

She giggled once she got a good look at the picture. In it were Rangiku and Toshiro; the large breasted woman had her captain crushed up against her chest and his face was horrified as he turned to the camera.

The events of the day flooded her mind and she remembered collapsing against Ichigo. She was thinking about going to look for him when the door opened revealing the object of her affections.

"Oh, hey. You're up." he came in and closed the door. In his hands were two bags filled with food from the local restaurant.

"I just got up."

"Are you feeling okay? You've only been out for a couple of hours." he asked.

"Yes, thank you. I'm still a little tired but right now I'm more interested in what you have in those bags."

He grinned at her as he sat down at the small table in Rangiku's room. "I figured you'd be hungry since we really haven't eaten so I got some take out from down the street."

"You guessed right." she said and they both laughed as they dug in to the meal he brought.

Ichigo snuck glances at the beauty across from him as they ate. He had told himself he would ignore the feelings he was having until he had time to sort them out in his mind, but, being alone with her in the apartment, watching her while she had slept, smelling that unique and utterly intoxicating scent that clung to her was making the process impossible.

Every so often he thought he would feel her gaze but when he looked up at her she was looking at the table but a pretty blush would be staining her cheeks. He wasn't imaging that right?

This would be the perfect time to talk. They were finally alone and without the possibility of distractions from their, sometimes annoying, friends.

"Wow, that was wonderful! I'm so impressed by their cooking here." Orihime exclaimed as she leaned back on her hands. "Only, now that I'm not hungry anymore the day is catching up to me. When are we supposed to go home?"

"We're gonna stay here tonight and leave in the morning." Ichigo told her.

"Here...where?"

He fought the blush that threatened to come to his face. "Here. In Rangiku's apartment. Toshiro told me we could stay here tonight."

Her mouth opened and closed a few times without anything coming out. She fought for her sanity once again. "Here. Both of us? What?"

"Yeah, sorry." he was slightly disappointed at her reaction but he would never do anything to make her uncomfortable. "Listen I can go ask Toshiro if there's somewhere else for me to stay."

"NO!" he jerked a little at her loud outburst and looked to her with surprised eyes.

She was mortified. She hadn't meant to scream at him but she didn't want him to think she didn't want him there. She had just been embarrassed at first by the knowledge that this time they wouldn't only be sharing an apartment but a room! A room that has only one bed!

She once again had to take a few deep breaths to steady herself as that thought had her head swimming with happiness. Not to mention thoughts she knew she shouldn't be having.

"I mean you don't have to do that. It's fine with me if we both stay here. I was just surprised is all." she smiled at him and this time he returned it.

Kami, he was so handsome! How was she gonna survive the night!

She stood up suddenly. "I'm gonna see if Rangiku still has some of the clothes she bought from our world and find a pair of pajamas." she began rifling through Rangiku's closet and couldn't stop herself from rambling. "I don't think she'll mind and I don't want to have to wear these to bed. It would just be too uncomfortable. Then I'd wake up with knots in my back and I wouldn't be any good to fight if we got attacked on the way back home and...oh...here's some."

She turned around to find Ichigo still sitting at the table watching her. His features were soft and relaxed. His brown eyes gazing at her in a way she had never seen, but it caused the butterflies in her stomach to do cartwheels. "Umm..." she had to swallow to continue, "I'm just gonna go change." he nodded to her and she ran into the bathroom.

Ichigo smiled as he watched her retreating form. Now he knew he wasn't imagining things. She was definatley flustered. Hope sprang forth in his chest.

He cleaned up their plates while she changed. As he was finishing up she came out of the bathroom and once again his brain shut down. How she managed to make a tank top and soft cotton shorts look like high dollar lingerie he'd never know; but he appreciated it, greatly.

She clapsed her hands in front of her and shifted her weight from foot to foot. He knew she was embarrassed but he couldn't make himself quit staring.

"Umm...Ichigo-kun? Are you ready for bed?"

Ichigo almost groaned aloud at the connotation behind her innocent statement.

_**"Oh hell yeah we are."**_

_"Shut up asshole."_

"You go ahead Orihime. I'm fine with sleeping on the floor."

She took a deep breath and gathered her courage. _You can do this Orihime. You've stared down hollows, cheated death, and faced Aizen alone. You can do this! _"I..Ichigo-kun."

"Hm?" he was rolling out a blanket on the floor and didn't turn to face her.

"I.." she closed her eyes and calmed herself again. "I don't mind if we share the bed. It's large enough for both of us and I don't want you to have to sleep on the floor."

Ichigo had to remind himself how to breath at her timidly spoken sentence. He turned to face her. "Are...are you sure Orihime? I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

That was all it took to give her the courage she needed to go on. Ichigo was always so nice, always considerate of her. "Yes, I'm sure."

She got in bed on the side near the window and got comfortable under the covers. The lights went out and she only tensed for a moment as she felt his weight descend on the bed.

The pair were quite for a while; just arranging themselves to get comfortable in the bed, which Ichigo knew was a lost cause as he couldn't stop his blood from trying to run south.

He was hesitating. He wanted to talk to her but, well, dammit this was new for him! He didn't know what to say. Didn't even know how to approach the situation and it scared the shit out of him. The minutes seemed like hours as he lay in bed trying to think of a way to talk to her.

Suddenly Zangetsu's words came to mind. He needed to face this head on. No hesitation.

He turned on his side to face her. "Orihime. Are you asleep?"

She turned on her side to face him as well. Even with the lights off they could see each others faces in the moonlight that came through the window. "No I'm still up. What is it Ichigo-kun?"

"There's something I want to ask you."

"What is it?" she replied.

The moonlight fell across her face and he easily saw her small, pink tongue reach out to wet her lips. His frustration was reaching new heights.

"You came to me before you left for Hueco Mundo didn't you?"

He saw her visibly tense at his words and she almost backed away but he put his hand behind her head to stop her.

"I...I..." she couldn't finish the sentence.

Ichigo curled his hand into her silky tresses and leaned a little closer to her. "Orihime."

Kami, she could just melt from the sound of his low, seductive voice. She was entranced by his molten chocolate eyes and couldn't do anything but look back to him as he moved closer. She could feel his breath on her face and the cartwheeling butterflies just gave birth to a firework display that would have Ganju jealous for life.

His breathless voice caressed her face. "Orihime, I really, really want to know why you came by."

She felt his body move closer to hers and in that moment she couldn't deny him anything. She lifted her hand and placed it to his chest, immensely pleased by the way the muscles jumped under her fingertips. She ran her tongue over her lips again and she could swear she saw fire in his eyes.

"I went because...I...Ichigo-kun I..."

Three sharp, loud knocks at the door interrupted her sentence and Ichigo saw red.

He leaped from bed and threw open the door, not bothering to see who was interrupting them or to tamper down his reiatsu that was boiling over.

**"What in the fucking hell do you want!" **

Kuchiki Byakuya stood behind the door. He did nothing at Ichigo's outburst other than raise one slim eyebrow. "I see your manners have not improved Kurosaki Ichigo."

Ichigo's reiatsu lowered slightly but his anger was still apparent. "I asked what do you want Byakuya."

"The captain commander wants to discuss the new Arrancar threat with the captains and he wants you there as well. You are to come with me."

Orihime sat up in bed holding the covers to her chest. "Should I come as well Byakuya-san?"

Byakuya looked past Ichigo to the young woman in bed, allowing no emotion to cross his face. "That is not necessary Inoue Orihime. He knows of your actions today in healing our wounded and he sends his thanks and instructs that you rest. Do not bother to wait up, this meeting will be long." Byakuya turned to leave but waited a few feet ahead for Ichigo.

Ichigo turned to face Orihime and didn't miss the regret in her eyes. "We'll finish this conversation later Orihime."

She smiled at him. "Okay Ichigo-kun."

Her smile did nothing to tamper down his desire. He had to bit back a groan at the image of her in bed...waiting for him. "We'll finish it very soon." he closed the door gently and fell in step beide Byakuya as they headed to the meeting.

"For what it is worth, I do apologize for the interruption." Byakuya said without turning to look at Ichigo.

Ichigo said nothing. The apology didn't help any.

Listening to his hollow, in bankai form, tear down the buildings in his world with a vengeance helped a little though.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Wow and just...wow! So many reviews for the last chapter! Thank you all so much! For a treat you get a really long chapter this time. I couldn't stop myself, the words almost flew onto the screen by themselves. I hope you all love this chapter as much as I do. Enjoy and please review!**

**Let us all take a minute to thank Tite Kubo for the gift that if Bleach.**

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Ichigo paused to wipe the sweat from his brow after he finished destroying the hollow. He was glad it was so late at night; the hollow had not had the chance to go after anyone as most people were fast asleep. He, of course, did not get that luxury. Although it wouldn't matter if he was in bed. Ever since they had returned from Soul Society a few weeks ago, sleep had not come easy to the substitute shinigami.

His hands curled into fists of their own regard as he thought back to that night.

He had been hoping Byukuya had been exaggerating when he had mention the meeting would be long; unfortunately he had not. By the time the meeting was finished the sun had been coming over the horizon and Toshiro went with him back to Rangiku's apartment to get Orihime and head for home. Since then, he had not had a moment alone with the beautiful healer to talk to her.

Every time he thought he saw a moment come available something got in the way. Either a hollow or Arrancar would appear or one of their friends would pop up and the moment would be wasted. He forced himself to relax and slowly made his way back to his house. He supposed this was the punishment he got for being such a pansy and wasting the time he had been given earlier.

Flashes of her face surrounded in moonlight went across his mind and his body responded without his consent. Those eyes were the reason he couldn't sleep lately, and when he was able to drift away in slumber his dreams were so vivid that when he awoke his body was wound tight as a bow. It was as if his eyes had taken photographs of that night just so that his traitorous mind could replay it for him every time he closed his eyes.

The way the moonlight had shown off her deep red hair, the silkly sheen that her skin held, the warmth of her hand as it had pressed against his chest, the sparkle her eyes had given off as they stubbornly held his gaze, her lips...those damn lips of hers that had become the focal point of his dreams! He could remember watching how her small, pink tongue had come out, ever so slowly, to wet her lips. It would replay over and over again in his head and he could just feel his hollow sitting back enjoying the show.

Damn Byukuya and Soul Society to the farthest pits of hell! He had been so fucking close to claiming those luscious lips as his when the knocking had come to his door. He wasn't fighting it anymore. He wasn't even really sure why he had been to begin with. Maybe because the idea of it was too wrong in his eyes. Orihime was a gentle, kind, well liked person who deserved so much more than a bad tempered, foul mouthed bastard like him. But...but he knew what he had seen in her that night. He may be dense to a lot of things and couldn't read emotions very well in people unless he was clashing swords with them, but there was no mistaking the look in her eyes at that time. He didn't know how deep her affections for him were but they were unmistakably there.

That thought alone had allowed him to keep a good grip on his ever fraying temper of the past weeks. Attacks from both normal hollows and the Arrancar had increased in frequency and, unfortunately, they had been hitting closer to home.

Orihime had, several times, been attacked on her way home from school. Thankfully, someone had been with her everytime. Mostly it was Toshiro or Rangiku as they were staying with her. Ichigo had started walking his sisters home everyday after the frightening revelation that they weren't above getting ambushed themselves.

Ichigo had been at Urahara's shop, discussing new approaches to the attacks when Jinta had come barrelling in and punched him directly in the jaw. Tessai had grabbed the young red head and held him even as he fought to get away and go after Ichigo again. The substitute jumped to his feet and demanded to know what the hell his problem was. Even remembering his words made his heart clench.

_"You stupid, arrogant fuck! What the hell are you doing sitting around here and not protecting your sisters!" the young man had screamed at him._

_Whatever Ichigo was going to say had been forced back into throat being replaced by a barely discernible 'what' as his throat threatened to close._

_"Didn't you learn __**anything **__the first time around? Did your small brain already forget that Karin's reiatsu is high enough to register on their radar?"_

_Ichigo grabbed the front of Jinta's shirt and curled it into his fist causing Tessai to let go of him. "Where are they?"_

_Jinta pushed his fist away as he answered. "They're at home now. Thank Kami the freeloader had been patrolling the area and stopped the Arrancar before he could even get to them. They didn't even realize they had been in danger. The only reason I saw it was because I was on my way to meet Yuzu and felt the Arrancars reiatsu. I rushed over in time to see the freeloader waste him."_

_Ichigo made a note to thank Renji later. Jinta wasn't finished with him yet. The young man had a rather mature look on his face as he pointed his finger at Ichigo. "Do not let this shit happen again. I don't care what you think of me but if I have to start spending every single minute with Yuzu to make sure she is safe I will."_

Jinta had walked off at that point leaving Ichigo alone with his thoughts. Yeah, he might not like the kid but that was slowly changing. He hadn't been kidding about spending all his time with Yuzu. Everytime Ichigo saw her away from the house she was with Jinta and occasionally Ichigo could feel Jinta's reiatsu outside their house, as if he was walking by just to check on her. His actions were beginning to mirror Ichigo's.

He had started walking his sisters home everyday but because of that he wasn't able to make sure Orihime got home okay. He knew Toshiro and Rangiku could handle anything that came up but he just _had_to know she was okay. So he had started leaving his body in his room and, in shinigami form, going to stand near her house to make sure she was inside and okay. He knew he was going a bit overboard but he couldn't stop himself.

Once he acknowledged the feelings he was having it was like a dam burst and every single overprotective thought he had was forcing itself to be known and acted upon. Not to mention he felt like he was turning into a pervert, at least where she was concerned.

He ran a hand across his eyes to try and stop the onslaught of thoughts that threatened to surface with that topic. He was once again so engulfed in his thoughts that he didn't notice the two approaching reiatsus.

"What the hell are you doing Ichigo?"

Said man looked up to find Renji and Rukia standing across from him.

_Seriously, I've got to calm down. This is like the fourth or fifth time I've been caught unaware._

_**"Maybe you should start being the horse."**_

_"Fuck off asshole."_

"What are you guys doing?" he finally asked.

"Just patrolling. Thought we felt a hollow a little while ago but I'm guessing you already took care of it." Rukia replied.

"Yeah, he wasn't anything too big."

"Maybe, but this is getting a little ridiculous. These things have been coming in like crazy for the past few days." Renji said.

Ichigo shouldered Zangetsu. "Yeah I know. Urahara said he wasn't sure what was going on but he was thinking maybe the Arrancar's are behind it."

"Makes sense."

Ichigo turned to Rukia. "Why do you think so?"

"Well, if the Arrancar were causing more hollows to appear if would certainly serve the purpose of distracting us and if we were all distracted, trying to fight the hollows..."

"They would have more of an opportunity to try and go after you or Inoue." Renji finished for her.

"Okay, yeah I see your point."

The group heard the screeching cry of another hollow close by. "Speak of the devils." Ichigo said as he once again pulled out Zangetsu.

* * *

Orihime sighed as she entered her apartment alone, finally she thought, for the first time in what seemed like forever. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the company she had, not at all. It was just that she had been alone for so long that sometimes she just needed a moment to herself. So much had happened lately and with everything going on she had not been able to stop and think about everything.

She had tried to recently, but as she sat on her couch thinking, Rangiku had came in and immediately thought something was wrong with her. The older woman had then pounced on the younger girl, tickling her into submission before dragging her out to get dinner.

Orihime sat on her couch now enjoying the silence in her home. As she sat there the events of late began to organize themselves in her mind. First, and foremost, was Ichigo. A light blush came to her face as she remembered their time in Soul Society.

Sometimes she would think about how he looked that night and wonder if it was a dream. From the moment he and Toshiro had woken her up that day they had not had any time to themselves. She wanted, desperately, to finish their conversation. Before that night, anytime she thought about telling Ichigo how she felt she would become so nervous and rattled that she couldn't think straight. Now...

Now she wanted to tell him. Badly.

The look on his face that night...he had been so close...she was sure, even through the maze of her sometimes haphazard brain, that he was going to kiss her. She brought her hands to her hot cheeks and sighed into her empty room. He had been demanding, dominant, and she wanted nothing more than to tell him everything he wanted to know.

Even if she had read the situation wrong, which she was almost sure was not the case, he wouldn't be cruel. Ichigo was such a kind person, even if people couldn't see it all the time, he would never crush her feelings even if he couldn't return them. She had been holding onto her feelings and keeping them secret for so long. She just didn't know if she could do it any longer. Especially with the way he had looked that night.

The little part of her that was more forceful, that not surprisingly sounded like Tatsuki, told her to suck it up and do it. Her courage increased a little. Of course she could do it! She was a, well...an almost grown woman, she lived by herself, took care of herself, faced down monsters, survived being kidnapped, and she had even invited him to share her bed.

She squealed in embarrassment and threw herself, face first, into the soft cushions of the couch. She _still_ couldn't believe she had done that. But...but, she was very, very glad she had.

Another squeal erupted from her lips at her brazen thoughts, but a voice interrupted her. A voice that, even though was laced with pain, was so familiar to her that her shield came out to stand in front of her without a second thought.

"Even though it works best for me I'm surprised to find you alone."

Orihime stared in horror at one of the people she never thought she would see again. He was in great pain, she could tell, but even though a part of her wanted to help him because she couldn't bare to see anyone hurting, another side of her reminded her how much he had hurt her and her friends and she held her shield firmly in place.

"Wha...what are you doing here?" she finally managed to ask.

He eased himself onto her floor before answering. "I'm surprised woman. You were never so rude before. You haven't even said hello."

Her eyes widened at his words but she clenched her jaw shut and held firm in her stance. He continued to stare at her but she didn't feel any intent to harm her in his gaze. She took her time to look him over.

His hakama were torn and dirty. Most of the stains looked like old dried blood. Running down his chest was a large wound that looked to have never healed properly. The wound cause a large red puckered scar that was blackened towards the bottom of it. There was a large bandage over that area that was soaked in the drainage coming from it. The smell alone caused her to nearly gag. His left arm was laying in his lap. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with it physically but she had seen how it swung, seemingly useless, as he had moved.

"Yeah, take a good look. This was the state I was left in." he sneered his words to her.

She bit down on the inside of her mouth to stop the 'I'm sorry' from leaving her lips. Showing him compassion was not the right thing to do at this moment no matter how much she wanted to do so.

"Again, what are you doing here?" she was proud her voice sounded so strong.

He leaned back against her wall and kept the same bored expression on his face. "I hear the Arrancar your idiot friends left alive in Hueco Mundo are after you."

She gasped loudly and her eyes displayed the shock she felt. A feral grin split his face. "Yeah I know about it. In fact, I know a lot more than you do."

Even though she felt like she was playing into a trap she asked the question anyway. "Do you know why they are after me and Ichigo-kun?"

"Maybe." his smile never left his face and she knew she was right. He had been baiting her and leading her into this verbal trap. He was continuing to watch her, with his predator's eyes and even though she was still scared out of her mind she needed this information. She had to do whatever she could to keep Ichigo, and herself, alive.

"You know. Tell me, please."

He shook his head at her. "You should know better than that woman. I don't owe you any other favors. This information will come with a price."

Against her better judgement she asked, "What do you want?"

"Heal me. Heal me and I'll tell you what's going on."

"No." she was very strong in her denial. "I'm not going to do it. You will just try to hurt everyone again."

"Don't be stupid woman. I've got no interest in your friends right now." he snapped at her.

She watched him carefully. Even though his temper had definitely been ignited he was making no move to come after her. She still wasn't convinced though. "Why would you do this for us?"

He laughed and the hollow sound cause her to shiver. "I'm not doing anything for you. This will be mutually beneficial that's all. Do you even have any idea how long it took me to conserve enough energy to come here? How long I had to hide myself just to get up the energy to make that fucking garganta? Not to mention be able to hide my reiatsu so I could find you!" he broke of his rant and began to cough heavily. The blood that now splattered his hand did not go un-noticed by her.

Now she felt bad. Even if he had tried to hurt her before, she felt horrible for the man. He had laid in wait, just to gather the strength to come see her. He was hurting, so much; even though he was doing this for his benefit he was going to help them as well.

"Are you going to tell the truth?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I do not lie woman."

She gulped at the anger he had in his voice. "I have a condition."

He allowed the scowl to leave his face as he once again leaned on the wall. "What is it?"

"I want Ichigo-kun here to hear the information. Also Urahara-san."

"Tch. I don't care who you have here as long as you heal me. Though you realize Kurosaki is going to try and kill me the second he comes through that door."

She realized he was probably right. She focused her powers and forced her shield to move to him. Although he tensed he didn't say anything or move as she placed the shield in front of him. The edges of the shield met the wall and floor, and though he was protected, she was as well.

"That will stop him if he does but I'm going to try to get him to listen to me."

"Good luck with that."

She ignored him as she went to her phone and dialed Ichigo's number. She was worried about what he was going to say. Out of everything that had happened, she had a feeling he was going to be so mad at her for this. She turned to look at her un-invited guest as she waited for him to pick up.

"You are going to get me into so much trouble Grimmjow."

* * *

Ichigo paused in his attempt to swing at Renji to get out his phone that was vibrating. The red head had once again riled him up after they had finished their fight with the hollows. He had been about to leave when Renji made a remark about Jinta and his sister which started the fight. Rukia had merely watched the pair laughing.

Ichigo saw it was Orihime calling and immediately tensed. He knew she was at home if she was calling him, she refused to get a cell phone saying they were too confusing for her, but he couldn't help the feeling that something was wrong.

"Orihime, whats up?"

"Umm..hey Ichigo-kun. Are you busy?" her voice came over the phone and he could hear the anxiety in it.

"No. I just finished with some hollows so I'm free now."

"Oh, are you alone?"

Now what kind of question was that? "Renji and Rukia are here too. Orihime what's going on?"

She evaded the question. "That's good. Can you bring them with you and come over to my apartment? I'm sorry, I know it's late but it's very important."

She was worrying him now and he didn't bother to hide it. "Orhime, you aren't answering me. What's going on? Are you okay?" Rukia and Renji were both watching him now with concerned looks on there faces.

"I'm okay, don't worry about that. Just please come over."

"I'm on the way now." he disconnected the phone and wasted no time in using his shunpo to rush to her place.

"Woah, Ichigo what's going on?" Renji asked as he fell in step beside Ichigo with Rukia on his back.

Ichigo was glad they had joined him because he had been so frantic in the need to get to her place he had forgotten to tell them to follow him. "Orihime wants us over at her place but something doesn't sound right."

"What's going on?" Rukia asked.

"She wouldn't say but something in her voice tells me it isn't good." Ichigo increased his speed leaving Renji to catch up with him. He launched himself over houses and light poles. Within only a few minutes he found himself near Orihime's door.

Her soft familiar reiatsu was located inside her house and he calmed a little. That was until he felt the reiatsu he could tell was trying to be hidden. Murderous intent flared to life within him so hard that he was surprised his hollow mask didn't materialize on his face.

_This had better be some kind of bad joke. That had better not belong to who I think it is. _Ichigo stomped heavily to Orihime's door and without a second thought kicked the wood out of his way.

He barely heard Orihime as she threw herself in front of him and began trying to explain what was going on. He never stopped as he walked up to the blue haired Espada, Orhime hanging onto his shoulders and back peddling as he unwittingly pushed her forward with him. He never heard Renji and Rukia's gasp as they came in. He placed his hands on the shield surrounding Grimmjow and allowed his reiatsu to freely burst forth.

"What. the. fuck. are you doing here Grimmjow?"

A large, unkind grin broke onto the Espada's face as he stared back at his nemesis. "Long time no see Kurosaki."

Bits of black flashed in Ichigo's eyes as he pushed on the shield but couldn't get it to break. "I asked you a fucking question!"

"Ichigo! Bastard lower your fucking reiatsu!"

He finally heard Renji scream at him and looked over his shoulder to see Rukia on the floor panting. Renji was still standing but it was obvious it was difficult for him. Orihime was on her knees beside him.

He immediately lowered his oppressing reiatsu and dropped down to Orihime. "Shit, Orihime are you okay?"

She took several deep breaths before finally looking up at him. "Yes, I'm okay. Thanks for lowering your reiatsu. I don't think I can handle too much of that."

Ichigo mentally berated himself before speaking again. "I'm sorry about that but," his temper exploded again but he held his reiatsu in check. "what the fuck is he doing in your apartment Orihime! Why in the hell would you bring him here?"

Orihime sat back at the anger in his tone and tried her best to explain. "But I didn't bring him here Ichigo-kun! I swear! He was already in my apartment!"

That was apparently not the right answer as Ichigo pulled Zangetsu off his back and pointed it at Grimmjow. "You're fucking dead." he hissed through his teeth. Grimmjow merely narrowed his eyes at the vizard.

"Wait! Ichigo-kun please wait!" Orihime threw herself in front of Ichigo again and placed her hands on his shoulders.

Ichigo turned his eyes down to her. "Why?" his anger still evident in his voice.

"I'm sorry Ichigo-kun but he knows why the Arrancar are after us. He said he'll tell us everything if I heal him."

"Did it not occur to you that he was maybe lying Orihime?"

She winced at his voice but she pressed on. "I did think about that and I asked him. He swore to me he wasn't lying and I told him I wouldn't heal him unless you were hear to hear his story and I won't heal him until after he's told us."

Ichigo grabbed her shoulder with his free hand. "Orihime, this isn't a good idea."

"But Ichigo-kun..."

"Well, well...what an interesting situation this is." Urahara said from the doorway. His usual fan was no where in sight.

"Urahara-san. Thank you so much for coming on such short notice." Orihime said, relief filling her voice.

"Of course Orihime-chan, and I'm very glad I did. I'm interested to hear this story as well." he came into the room and sat on the floor around her table being sure to place himself close to Grimmjow. His cane sat in his lap, firmly in his grip.

"Urahara-san, this isn't a good idea. You know he was one of the ones who held her captive in Hueco Mundo. He tried to strangle her!" Ichigo screamed at him.

"I was only getting her to obey Kurosaki." the Espada said.

"Shut up! What...How are you even alive?"

"Are you going to let her heal me?"

Ichigo could see how much the Espada hated to ask that question. He knew how prideful Grimmjow was and to even allow everyone to see him in this state had to be a hard blow for the man.

"As you can see he is of no threat to us in his current state Kurosaki-san." Urahara said.

Ichigo warred with himself. Yes, they needed the information the Espada had but that didn't stop the hatred Ichigo felt at the fact that Grimmjow had been waiting for Orihime in her apartment. He could have easily snuck up on her and killed her. Where the fuck were Toshiro and Rangiku anyway? He promised both of them pain when he found them.

Dammit...this pissed him off so fucking bad. He eyed the Espada again and saw he had not moved at all. "You make a single move to hurt anyone and I'll rip your fucking spine out." Ichigo swore to the man.

Orihime cringed at the malice in Ichigo's voice. Oh yeah, saying he wasn't happy was the understatement of the year.

"Can it Kurosaki. I already told the woman I'm not interested in hurting anyone right now."

Ichigo said nothing but planted himself on the floor beside Orihime and continued to glare at Grimmjow.

Urahara turned to look at Ichigo beneath his bangs. The boy was practically radiating his displeasure but he seemed to at least understand the situation they were in. He sighed. Apparently he was going to have to lead the questioning.

"Alright Grimmjow, tell us what you know."

Everyone in the room sat in silence as they waited on the Espada to being talking.

Rukia sat quietly, glancing at Ichigo when she dared to. She had never seen him this mad in the entire time she had known him. When she and Renji entered Orihime's apartment she could feel the crushing anger he displayed towards the Espada. She knew he was the one Ichigo had fought in the world of the living but it sounded like he had fought him again in Hueco Mundo. If the blue haired Arrancar had in fact tried to strangle Orihime and was one of her captors, Rukia could understand Ichigo's anger. Though she was still a little upset at how easily she had fell to his reiatsu.

When he had released that wave of power she had instantly fell to her knees struggling to breath. It was as if Captain Zaraki had taken off his eye patch that held most of his reiatsu at bay. She noticed Renji could barely stand as well. When had Ichigo gotten so powerful?

"Start talking Grimmjow." Ichigo said.

"You've yet to tell me if you were going to hold up your end of the bargain."

Ichigo said nothing but continued to stare at the Espada.

"What to you intend to do once you are healed?" Urahara asked.

Grimmjow turned to him. "Go back to Hueco Mundo. Even after the woman heals me I've been laid up for a long time unable to move correctly. I wouldn't have the stamina to properly fight Kurosaki right now."

Urahara raised his eyebrow to the man. "So you're only intersted in Kurosaki-san?"

"Of course. He and I have unfinished business. But it will have to wait."

"I don't think..." Orihime began.

"Just do it Orihime. We need his information and if he only wants to fight me then it's a fair trade." Ichigo said.

Orihime tried to protest again but Ichigo turned his gaze on her and she kept her mouth shut. She called her shield back and placed her healing dome over the wounded man.

"Talk while you heal." Ichigo said.

"Fine, damn you're moodier than ever." Grimmjow said. "To answer your earlier question the only reason I'm alive is because I found a cave to hide myself in while I recovered. Once you and Nnoitra started fighting I moved away and found the cave. I sat there sleeping for a while, trying to heal but unfortunately wounded Arrancar are easy prey. I've spent the past months moving from place to place fighting off those who tried to take advantage of my injuries to kill me. I can't be done away with so easily but the fighting has cause my injuries to get infected and not heal. It has taken me this long to conserve the energy to come here."

"What can you tell us about the Arrancar?" Urahara asked.

"At first, after Aizen had been captured and the rest of the Espada defeated everything went back to the way it was normally in Hueco Mundo. Survival of the fittest; but with Baraggan gone the title of king was left open. They decided not to fight for the position because they knew they were all about the same in terms of power and also there wouldn't be anyone left to rule over."

"Interesting, how do you know this?" Urahara said.

"A few of the hollows that came after me spilled the info during our fights. The arguing went on for months until one of them came up with an idea. In order to take up the kings position they needed to defeat the king. This was how Aizen took over. But, since the king was gone they decided the next best thing would be to defeat the one who defeated the king." Grimmjow turned his gaze onto Ichigo. "That's why they're after you now Kurosaki. Whoever kills you gets to be king of Hueco Mundo."

Ichigo looked back to Grimmjow. "That doesn't explain why they're after Orihime."

Grimmjow laughed at that. "Oh that would be all your doing Kurosaki. You are the one who came barreling into Hueco Mundo after the woman. They know if they take her like Aizen did you'll come again. Having to fight you on their territory would be an advantage to them."

"How many arrancar are left?" Renji asked.

"Dunno for sure. After the war there were twenty left. Before they started on this little endeavor there was some fighting amongst them and three of them were killed. I've heard the hollows talking and according to them you people have managed to take a few out."

"Yes. In all we have destroyed seven Arrancars." Rukia said.

"So there are ten of those bastards left to deal with." Ichigo said clenching his fists.

"Umm...Ichigo-kun? I've finished healing Grimmjow." Orihime said quietly from beside him.

Ichigo moved closer to her as Shouno and Ayame returned to her hairpins, dispelling the technique. Everyone watched with baited breath as Grimmjow stood up and stretched his body out. He flashed them an amused grin.

"Why are you all so tense?" he laughed fully then.

Ichigo jumped up with Zangetsu in his hand, standing fully in front of his friends. "What are you gonna do now Grimmjow?"

"I''ve already said it once Kurosaki. I'm going back to Hueco Mundo. I'm not ready for our rematch right now but be sure I intend to have it."

"What rematch? I already beat you once." Ichigo said.

"I'm still alive so you didn't win. Make sure you don't get yourself killed by anyone else til I come back." he turned to Orihime. "Later woman." He raised his hand in front of him and pulled at something, a moment later a small garganta opened in her wall and he passed through leaving the group behind.

"Well, at least we know now what the arrancar want." Urahara said. "Why don't we all meet back at my shop to discuss this furthur. I will get in touch with everyone else as well."

"Speaking of that where the fuck are Toshiro and Rangiku?" Ichigo asked.

"They said they felt a group of hollows near here so they left to take care of them. They were worried but I told them to go ahead that I'd be fine." Orihime said. She watched Ichigo slowly turn to face her.

The rest of the group took notice of his rapidly darkening mood.

"Find them Urahara-san." Though he was talking to Urahara his gaze never left Orihime. "I want to have a word with them."

"I hope your mood improves before then." Urahara said under his breath.

"Come on Ichigo, let's go to the shop and wait for them." Rukia said.

"You guys go ahead. Orihime and I will catch up." he replied without turning away from the healer.

"Can't it wait? This is important." the small shinigami said.

"We should go with everyone Ichigo-kun." Orihime said. Ichigo walked towards her and didn't stop. She was forced to back up until she was against the wall and squeaked as his hands came up beside her head, effectively trapping her between them.

"I said we'll catch up." he muttered to the girl.

Rukia watched the scene with wide eyes, not understanding what was going on. Beside her, Renji had a knowing smirk on his face. He pushed Rukia out the door telling her Ichigo would catch up and they needed to give him some time. Once the door closed and Ichigo knew they were alone in the apartment, he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm his rising temper.

"Orihime."

"Yes!" she jumped at his voice. Ichigo was scaring her just a little. She knew he wouldn't hurt her but she also knew he was very, very mad. She needed to be careful of what she said.

"Did I hear you right? You told Toshiro and Rangiku to leave you alone here?"

"Umm..yes."

"Do you not remember the conversation we had at Urahara's shop all those weeks ago, where you agreed, along with everyone else, to stay with someone?"

"Umm...yes."

"Then can you please explain to me why you told them to go and leave you here alone?"

He had kept his voice level the entire time he had spoken but that did nothing to quell her fears. He was much more upset than she thought and yes, he was most definitely mad at her.

"I'm sorry Ichigo-kun."

"That doesn't answer my question 'Hime." she had nothing to say to that. "Do you not see what could have happened here? Grimmjow was waiting for you in your apartment! You could have been killed! My God woman do you not realize the situtation you put yourself in!"

She couldn't stop the tears that gathered in her eyes. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry Ichigo-kun."

Damn, now he felt like an ass. He gathered her in his arms and held her as she cried. He had been scared when he felt Grimmjow's reiatsu in her home but finding her alone with him scared him even more. He was frustrated with Toshiro and Rangiku, he was worried over her safety and he had taken it out on her. Now the gentle girl was weeping in his arms and it was entirely his fault.

"I'm sorry Orihime. Please, please stop crying." he pleaded with her.

"But you're mad at me." he heard her whisper through her tears.

"I'm not mad at you. I'm just so upset at the idea of what could have happened." she stopped crying and he continued to hold her. "I need you to be careful Orihime."

"You're really not mad at me?" she asked.

He pulled back from her and tilted her head up so he could look into her storm grey eyes. He lifted his hands to her face and gently brushed the tears from her cheeks. "No. I couldn't be mad with you. I just can't stand the thought of you hurt and seeing Grimmjow here with you, alone, freaked me out."

"I'm sorry about that Ichigo-kun, but he surprised me. I swear I did have my shield in front of me the moment I heard him but when he said he had that information I just had to listen to him." her eyes pleaded with him to understand.

"Why Orihime? How could you put yourself into danger like that?"

She smiled her sweet smile, the one she always reserved for him. "Because, if he knew something that would help keep you safe I had to learn it, no matter what."

Ichigo threaded his fingers into her hair and leaned his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes and let the light fragrance that was entirely Orihime wash over him. "Tell me," he said softly, without opening his eyes, "tell me why you came to my room the night you left for Hueco Mundo."

She was almost glad he had his eyes closed, it made it a little easier for her to keep going. His face was relaxed as he awaited her answer and it reminded her of that night. The night she stood over his sleeping form and poured her heart out to him. It made it so much easier to say it, even though she knew he was awake this time.

"Because I love you."

His eyes flew open and he stared into her face, hoping, praying that each word she had spoken was the truth; wishing with everything that made up his soul that he had not misheard her. She stood meeting his stare with her soft eyes and a light blush to her cheeks.

"Say it again." he demanded.

"I love you Ichigo-kun."

One of his hands left her hair and he wrapped it around her lower back, forcing her even closer to his body.

"Again."

This time she smiled for him. "I love you Ichigo."

He lowered his head as his eyes closed and...

_**"Finally"**_

He ignored his hollow as his lips caressed hers. Slowly, gently he moved his lips over hers. His hand tilted her head slightly and he deepened the kiss. He wanted to scream his pleasure aloud when he heard her soft moan at their contact.

Slowly, as not to scare her, he allowed his tongue to trace her bottom lip. He didn't need to worry about scaring her as she quickly opened her mouth to allow him inside. The moment his tongue touched hers he felt the contact over every inch of his skin. He never knew, never had any idea how wonderful it would feel to have her in his arms. He used his tongue to coax hers back into his mouth and he revealed in the way she clung to him as he lightly sucked on her tongue.

He drew back from her for only a moment to breath before he kissed her again. The heat began building quickly this time. Her hands left their perch on his shoulders to run through his hair and he groaned aloud at the pleasure he felt from her fingers rubbing his scalp. His hands dropped to her waist and he pulled her closer to his lean form. He only kissed her harder as he felt her breasts press into his chest.

Orihime moaned into his mouth as his hands squeezed her hips. She lowered one of her hands to run down the length of his chest before she ran it up his back, feeling the play of his muscles, before she clenched his shirt into her hand. She heard the low rumble come from his throat and felt heat pool into her belly. He tore his mouth away from hers and though she desperately needed to breath she wanted to continue more.

She didn't need to wait for long because he immediately put his lips to her throat and began kissing and nipping the smooth column of her throat. She tilted her head to the side unconsciously and pressed her hips closer to his. He scraped his teeth along her neck and she never knew something could feel so delicious. She didn't even recognize the sound that tore from her throat.

Ichigo had to stop. He knew he had to stop but he couldn't tear himself away from her. Kami, she tasted so good! He could spending hours, days just discovering every inch that made up Inoue Orihime. When she pressed her hips closer to his he tightened his grip on her waist but when he ran his teeth over her luscious skin and she made that sound he nearly broke from want.

He came back up and feasted on her mouth like a dying man drinking water. Over and over again he plunged his tongue into her sweet mouth until they were literally clinging to each other for support. She gave and he took with a fierceness that surprised him. Only for a moment did he think he was being too rough for the gentle woman until his brain processed the fact that she was kissing him just as fiercely.

Finally, when the need for air became too great, he pulled back from her but kept her close. They leaned on each other as they regained their breath.

Ichigo watched her as she slowly opened her eyes. Her lips were kiss swollen and her face flushed. His chest swelled with pride knowing he was the one who made her that way. He held himself still against her, willing his body to calm down. They still had to go to Urahara's shop and he couldn't show up in his condition.

"Wow." her breathless voice carried across his face and he couldn't stop the large grin that come with her statement. He pressed another soft kiss to her lips before he hugged her tightly.

"I think I'm going to want to hear you say that everyday." he admitted to her.

She pulled back to look into his eyes. "That is something I would be more than happy to do." His eyes softened and he wore that smile that she loved so much more than his scowl. His hands were gentle as they ran down her arms until he linked his fingers with hers.

"Come on. Everyone's waiting for us." he said as he let her out of the door and walked beside her.

She knew she was wearing a big, goofy smile but she couldn't help it. She didn't know if he loved her but he cared about her a great deal. He was not one to speak about his feelings out loud so he showed them in his actions; and right now his actions told her all she needed to know. He wanted her by his side and that was more than enough.


	12. Chapter 12

**Merry Christmas everyone! (Well, if you don't celebrate Christmas I hope you have a happy holiday season in whatever you do.) **

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Ichigo tightened his hold on the slender hand encased in his grip. He glanced out the corner of his eye and saw Orihime smile before ducking her head to hide the pretty blush on her cheeks. He still couldn't believe his luck.

She loved him.

She had said it over and over again and he was going to make her keep good on that promise to say it everyday because he was too afraid it wasn't real. How could someone so good, so kind, love someone so quick tempered and foul mouthed like him?

He didn't care what anyone said, though he rarely did, he was going to be selfish and enjoy the blessing that had been bestowed upon him. If Orihime loved him there was no way in hell he was going to turn that away. He only hoped he could be the kind of man she needed and deserved.

He wasn't the type of person who could display affection in public and he had always been a private person. She was more open with everyone, though he could tell she still kept things from others; especially if she thought she would be inconveniencing someone. Would she expect him to be more open around everyone? He wasn't sure how to bring that topic up. Was that how it was in all relationships? He didn't know. This was the first one he had ever had and he was pretty sure it was her first too.

That thought brought a smile to his face. He was her first, and if he had his way, he would be her last. Walking beside her, holding her in his arms, just being with her...nothing had ever felt more right in his life.

The couple stopped as they felt a large burst of reiatsu followed by someone's scream.

"That felt close by." Orihime said.

Ichigo let go of her hand to pull Zangetsu from his back. "Yeah, but I'm pretty sure that was Ikkaku's reiatsu. Come on." he led the way as they ran a few blocks up to the source of the reiatsu.

Ichgio had been correct. When they cleared the third block they found Yumichika leaning against a light-post watching Ikkaku battle an Arrancar. It looked like the latter had released his zanpakuto as his body was covered in scales and long talons had replaced his fingers. Ikkaku had only released Hōzukimaru in shikai form.

"Yumichikia." Ichigo called to the shinigami as they neared him.

"Oh hello Kurosaki, Orihime-chan."

"Hello Yumichika-san. Is Ikkaku-san doing okay?" Orihime asked.

Yumichika laughed. "Of course he is! Though he's not having too much fun. The poor Arrancar has already released his zanpakuto and Ikkaku is still beating him pretty badly. It's not enough of a fight for him to be enjoying it."

The trio heard another scream and looked up to see the Arrancar on his knees, a large wound down the middle of his chest.

"No! No! I will be king of Hueco Mundo! I can't die here!" he screamed.

Ikkaku didn't reply but simply watched as the Arrancar plummeted to the earth. He was dead before he hit the ground. Ikkaku jumped down to re-group with everyone.

"Nice job Ikkaku." Yumichika said.

"Yeah, whatever. He was probably the weakest one I've encountered."

"Well, that makes the count nine now." Ichigo said.

"Huh? You found out how many are left? When did that happen?" Ikkaku asked, clearly confused.

"A little while ago. Come on, we're going to Urahara's shop and we'll fill you in on the details." he replied.

"Okay, just a minute though. Rangiku-san and Captain Hitsugaya are supposed to meet us here in a moment to take over the watch."

Ichigo placed Zangetsu on his back and grinned in a way that had Orihime worried for her friends. "Oh that's perfect. I was wanting to talk with them."

"Ichigo-kun, please, I'm the one who told them to go."

He turned his attention to the healer. "I don't care Orihime. They should have never left you alone and they know that. I'm just gonna remind them of that fact."

"But Ichigo-kun," her statement was cut off by the arrival of the very two they were talking about.

"Orihime-chan!" Rangiku called. "There you are! My goodness, you had me so worried! We went back to your apartment and couldn't find you and we felt someone's reiatsu lingering we couldn't identify. I felt better when we realized Ichigo was with you."

"Who was the other person we didn't recognize?" Toshiro asked.

Orihime bit her bottom lip as she felt Ichigo stiffen beside her.

"You would have known who it was if you would have stayed with her. Do you even have any idea what danger you put her in? That was a fucking Espada waiting at her house!" he wasn't screaming yet but Orihime could see the muscles in his neck standing out from his tension.

"An Espada? I didn't think any were left alive." Toshiro said.

"Yeah, well one is and he could have easily killed her! He was waiting at the fucking apartment for her to get back!" he was screaming at this point and Rangiku had taken a step back at the anger in his voice. Toshiro's eyebrows were drawing down; he wasn't used to anyone venting their anger on him and his position as a captain commanded respect. Orihime was beginning to worry; she looked over at Ikkaku and Yumichika but found the two of them watching the scene with smiles on their faces. The eleventh squad loved a fight no matter who it was between.

"Watch your tone with me Kurosaki." Toshiro said.

"Hell no. If something would have happened to her it would have been entirely your fault! Why in the hell would you leave her alone anyway? We all agreed to stay in pairs but you broke that didn't you _captain!_"

Orihime could feel the chill in the air as Toshiro's reiatsu began to rise. "I think you're over stepping your bounds _substitute_." he sneered.

The men stepped closer to each other and their buxom companions locked eyes. Rangiku grabbed her captains shoulders as Orihime latched onto Ichigo's arm.

"Come on Ichigo-kun, please, stop this. I'm fine. It's my fault anyway."

"I already told you it wasn't." his words were for her but he didn't look away from the white haired captain.

"Please Ichigo-kun. We have to get to Urahara's. Everyone is waiting remember?" she felt him relax a little but he still stood un-moving in front of the captain. She went to stand in front of him and placed her hands on his cheeks. She forced his head down to look at her. "Please Ichigo?"

He grit his teeth together as he looked into her pleading face. Dammit, he wanted to lay into Toshiro so badly. So much could have happened to her and he wanted someone to pay for it. Her hands were gentle on his face and he watched as she mouthed 'please' again. He felt the tension roll out of him. Shit, there was no way he could deny her. He reminded himself that she had not been hurt in any way but that didn't get rid of the guilt he felt over the fear he knew she had experienced when she found Grimmjow waiting on her.

He slowly backed away from Toshiro. "Okay, I'll let it go for now."

She smiled at him and returned to his side.

"I'm sorry Orihime-chan. I'm glad you're okay though." Rangiku said to the young woman.

"Don't worry about it Rangiku-san. We're going to go meet with everyone at Urahara's and discuss what we found out tonight. I'll fill you in on everything later." she waved over her shoulder to the leader's of squad ten as they continued on their way. Before she turned her head she caught Toshiro's ashamed gaze and she knew she heard his apology on the wind. She would have to talk to him later and assure him she was okay.

"Damn, that would have been a great fight to see." Yumichika said.

"Yumichika-san!" Orihime exclamied.

"Sorry Orihime-chan, I agree with Yumichika. Two captain class shinigami's going at it? It would definitely make staying with Keigo's crazy sister worth it."

* * *

"Well, at least we know what their reasons are now and how many are left to deal with." Shinji said.

Once the four of them had arrived at Urahara's, the shopkeeper had relayed all the information they had learned to the group. He had called Shinji who came alone on behalf of the vizards.

"True, and since Ikkaku-san just defeated another one the count is down to nine. I wish we knew how powerful the rest were though." Ishida added.

The group was silent as they thought about that statement. Orihime glanced around the room, surprised at how full it was. All of their Soul Society companions were there, along with Sado and Ishida, as well as Shinji. Tessai was sitting beside Urahara and on the other side of him was Yoruichi.

"From everything I've heard it doesn't sound like they are coming out in any specific order. There is no telling how powerful or weak the rest will be. Everyone will have to be on guard." Yoruichi said. Muted murmurs of agreement filled the room.

"Okay my dears. I believe it is past some of your bed times." Urahara said behind his fan. The shinigami laughed at the human teenagers cries of outrage at his joke.

Orihime walked out of the shop with Ichigo close behind her. She waved goodbye to Sado and Ishida as they went on ahead.

"Orihime, if Toshiro and Rangiku-san are patrolling tonight who's staying with you?" Ichigo asked.

"Me. So you don't have to bother walking her home tonight." Rukia said as she came up beside the pair.

Ichigo wasn't pleased by the situation. It wasn't that he didn't trust Rukia's abilities but normally Orihime had a captain and vice-captain staying with her. He felt better when he knew two people were staying. She had had a close call that evening as well. What if something else happened? It gnawed at his gut, tension pulling and twisting at his mind until he couldn't stand it.

"She's gonna stay with me tonight."

"What!" cried both the female in front of him.

"Come on, it's no big deal. She can stay on the futon you did when you stayed last time." he said.

"Ichigo, if this is about earlier don't worry about it. You heard Grimmjow, he only wants to fight you. Plus, he said he wouldn't be able to come back for a while." Rukia said.

"Yeah, I heard him but normally Toshiro and Rangiku-san stay with her. Seeing as how she is one of their targets I think it'd be safer for her to stay with me tonight." he replied.

"With your family? Is that so wise?"

"Yeah, with two shinigami in the house. I think it's much safer."

Rukia couldn't believe her ears. Ichigo was not backing down from his decision. She knew he worried about Orihime's safety, but to have her stay with him? He wasn't looking at her but she was sure the tips of his ears were red, even under what little light the street lamps were providing. She turned to look at Orihime. The poor girl wasn't even trying to hide the blush that adorned her cheeks. It seems Renji had been right. She wanted to squeal and hug Orihime but she controlled herself. She would settle for talking with Renji later.

"Okay Ichigo. If you think that's safer then we'll go with your plan." Rukia agreed.

Ichigo shook his head and turned to leave making sure Orihime followed him. He didn't like the way Rukia had said that. The midget was up to something. He grabbed Orihime around the waist and used his shunpo to go to her apartment. It didn't take long for her to grab the necessities but as she came back into the living room she was hesitant.

"Ichigo-kun, this isn't necessary you know. I'd be fine here with Rukia." she said.

"Forget it Orihime. Yeah, Rukia's strong but she isn't on the same level as a captain and considering what happened here tonight I'm not leaving you alone here with less than that." he crossed his arms over his chest as he watched her fidget in place.

"But..." she looked at his face and stopped arguing. He had that look that said he had made up his mind and she knew there would be no changing it. She sighed.

"What about your family? It's almost eleven pm. Aren't we going to wake them up?"

"Nope. The old man took Yuzu and Karin to a late movie tonight so they are probably just getting home."

She finally walked over to him. "You know, I think you've been getting your way too much here lately." a faint smile appeared on her face.

"You talked me out of fighting with Toshiro tonight. You owe me big for that one alone." he smiled when she laughed and he led the way out of her apartment and to his house.

The new couple passed the time quickly speaking of their friends and school, having said enough about Arrancar that night. When they got to Ichigo's house he was about to open the door when he cursed and told her to wait there. Before Orihime could even ask why he jumped to his window and went inside. He was back out soon in his body.

"Sorry, I forgot I left my body in bed." he opened the door and was relieved to find the lights on. His family must have just got back from the movies. They removed their shoes and walked into the hallway.

"Hang tight while I hunt down my dad." he said. Before he could walk away he felt pain erupt in his face in the form of Isshin's foot connecting with his jaw. Falling into an old routine, he returned the kick and the pair were soon all out fighting in the hallway.

Orihime stood there gripping her bag; she was unsure what to do. She had seen Ichigo hit his father before, and they didn't seem to be mad at one another, so should she intervene?

"Just ignore them." Karin said as she came around the corner. "They get tied up like this and forget about everyone else. Come on in." the younger girl led her into the living room.

"Are you sure they're gonna be alright?" the healer asked.

"Yeah, it's normal around here. So what are you doing here? And what's in the bag?"

Orihime floundered for her words. They hadn't discussed what they would say and she found herself at a loss. Before she could get too worked up Ichigo spoke up.

"There's a problem at her apartment so she's gonna stay here tonight." he rubbed his jaw and sat opposite of them.

"Where's goat-chin?" Karin asked.

"Why do my children show no concern for their father?" Isshin cried dramatically as he came into the living room.

"Maybe because you met me at the door with your foot!" Ichigo cried.

"Ichi-nii, oto-san! No fighting okay." Yuzu came down the stairs in her pajamas and stopped when she saw Orihime. "Oh, Orihime-san. I'm sorry, I didn't know you were here."

"It's okay Yuzu-chan. I just got here." she replied.

"Dad, Orihime's gonna stay tonight okay?" Ichigo said.

Isshin's eyes lit up and he grabbed Orihime from the couch in a large hug. "Of course you can stay Orihime-chan. Tonight, a week, forever is fine with me!" The young woman's eyes were wide with shock and she could do nothing but hold on as he squeezed her tightly. She liked Kurosaki-san but sometimes he was a bit too exuberant.

"Let go of her old man! You're squeezing her too tight!" Ichigo yelled as he grabbed his fathers hair and pulled him away from Orihime. She flopped back onto the couch and watched as Isshin ran to his late wife's poster crying in joy.

"You okay Orihime? Sorry dad's such a pain." Ichigo asked.

"I'm fine Ichigo-kun. I like your father." she decided to keep the part about just getting feeling back into her arms to herself.

"So Orihime-san's staying? Oh this is going to be fun! It's a sleep over!" Yuzu exclaimed. She grabbed Orihime's hands and pulled her up the stairs. Orihime barely had time to say goodnight to Ichigo before she was ushered into the twins bedroom.

Ichigo sighed as he trudged into his room. Maybe Orihime would have been in less danger in her apartment after all.

* * *

Orihime was surprised when she awoke the next morning to find herself alone in the twins bedroom. She had slept in, it was after ten in the morning. She felt more refreshed than she had in a while. Not a single nightmare had plagued her that night and her dreams had been very peaceful. She got dressed in a soft, loose fitting floral print skirt and a white top before she descended the stairs of the Kurosaki household.

Silence met her as she walked into the living room. No one was around, no glasses left out, no noise coming from the kitchen either. Before she she could start to get worried, she heard steps on the stairs and felt Ichigo's reiatsu surround her. She smiled as she looked up into her love's face.

"Good morning Ichigo-kun."

"Morning Orihime. I was finishing up that paper due on Monday when I heard you finally get up."

Her smile faltered a bit. "I'm sorry about that. I hardly ever sleep this late. Why didn't Yuzu-chan and Karin-chan wake me up?"

"I told them not to. You needed the rest so don't worry about it. Dad took them out for breakfast then he said they were gonna do some shopping. They won't be home 'til around lunch." he went and sat on the couch and she followed, taking a space near him. "Do you want anything to eat?"

"No, I'm fine. I'll get something later."

"Okay, we'll eat lunch soon anyway."

Her eyes lit up with surprise, and happiness. "You...you want me to have lunch with you?"

"Well, yeah...I mean, if you want to." he began to rub the back of his neck.

"Of course! I'd love to Ichigo-kun."

"I can't believe you were surprised at that."

She lowered her head and stared at her hands gripped in her lap. There was one problem, it wasn't anything new, she had actually thought about it numerous times over the past couple of years; during the time she had been in love with Ichigo. She did need to say something to him, but...would he push her away now? The thought scared her. All of the happiness that she had experienced in the past 24 hours could be over in a split second and now that she new the absolutely joy of being beside Ichigo how could she possibly cope with being apart from him?

"Orihime?" his confused voice registered on her ears.

"I'm sorry Ichigo-kun. It's just that...well, I don't know how to do this."

He raised one eyebrow at her. "What? You know you can tell me anything Orihime."

"No I mean this," she waved her hand between the two of them. "You know my past, onii-chan told you. I've never really seen how a couple should interact. I don't know the first thing about how to be with somebody." There, she had said it. She could feel the tears already stinging her eyes but she closed them tight, almost unwilling to be looking at him when he turned away from her. What she was not expecting was his light chuckle. She turned to face him and was surprised at the soft smile on his face. He reached over and grabbed her hand in his.

"There's not really a guide book you know. I'm pretty sure everyone is different."

"But what if I do something stupid Ichigo-kun! I'm sure I will and I'll embarrass you!" she cried.

He reached his hand up to wipe away the single tear that had escaped her eyes. "You can't embarrass me 'Hime; but I'm sure I'll do something stupid and make you mad or frustrated with me."

She clutched at the hand holding hers. "That won't happen."

He lightly laughed, "Yeah, I'll remind you how you said that when it happens." the couple laughed together. Ichigo scooted over so he could wrap his arms around her. They sat silent for a while, content in each other's embrace. Ichigo was glad she had slept but it had definitely not been an easy sleep for him. Replaying the events of that day in his head, knowing she was sleeping only a few feet away, his dreams had been the sweetest kind of torture with vivid flashes of alabaster skin, full pink lips, and cries of pleasure spilling from her mouth.

"Since I'm being so honest here, I do have one other confession." Orihime said against his chest.

"Hmm? What's that?" his fingers were running through her soft hair. He felt as if he were still dreaming. Her skin felt so wonderful next to his and her scent filled his head. This was definitely a position he had never pictured himself in. He never thought he'd be able to feel comfortable holding someone like this, but with Orihime, it felt right to do so; and from the way she relaxed in his arms and nuzzled against him, he knew she was comfortable too.

"I always thought you liked Rukia-chan."

"What!" he pulled away from her abruptly and stared, horrified into her face. "Why in the world would you think that?"

"Oh come on Ichigo-kun, you have to admit you have a rather close relationship with her."

He calmed down and thought about that statement. Thinking about it the way someone else would see them...

He sighed and pulled her close again. "Okay, yeah I guess you're right on that one. But it is not like that so forget that idea immediately!" he heard her giggle. "It's just that Rukia is the person who gave me the means to protect everyone I care about. She trained me, fought beside me, and she does know how to get through my thick skull whenever I get stuck on something. I guess that's because Renji and I are kinda alike. If you tell him I said that you're in so much trouble."

She giggled again and snuggled deeper into his embrace. She was, without a doubt, the happiest woman alive at the moment. Ichigo was holding her, playing with her hair, and telling her he was, in fact, **not **in love with Rukia. If she died right then she was pretty sure she would skip Soul Society all together and go straight to heaven. "I promise I won't. Thank you for telling me that Ichigo-kun."

"You're not the only one who worries about stuff you know." he said.

She pulled back to look into his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's just...this, being...umm...affectionate," God he could feel his ears burning, how lame could he be!, "I mean...dammit...you know I like my privacy and..."

Orihime placed her finger on his lips to stop his broken tirade. She couldn't help the smile on her face. He was just being so cute. "I understand Ichigo-kun. Don't worry about that. I'm really too shy anyway. I wouldn't be comfortable unless we were alone."

He captured her hand as she moved it away and laced his fingers with hers. "Thank you." he held her close to his body once again. When he felt her fingers in his hair he smirked against her neck. "Good thing we're alone now."

"Huh?" was all she could manage to get out before he was placing kisses against her neck. God, would she ever get used to the feel of Ichigo kissing her? Her mind went blank and she tipped her head back to concentrate on the feeling of his lips against her, kissing and licking their way up her throat until he finally reached his destination and claimed her lips. Both teens felt the near electric tingles from their lips meeting.

Ichigo felt her tilt her head slightly to deepen the kiss and he smiled against her lips. Her small tongue came out to battle with his and his grip tightened on her shoulders. Once again he lost himself against her soft body. In no time at all, the atmosphere became heated. Lips met furiously, moans come from both parties as hands began to wander.

Ichigo groaned as he tore his mouth away from hers to desperately pull in air, but this time Orihime buried her head against his neck continuing to lavish his body with her kisses. She traced her delicate tongue around the shell of his ear as she wiggled to get more comfortable. She lifted herself slightly and placed her leg on the other side of his. Unbeknown to her, she had succeeded in straddling him.

Ichigo couldn't stop the gasp from escaping his lips when Orihime straddled his lap. Her lips on his neck and ear were driving him insane and she had brought her heat closer to his rising problem. His hands delved under her shirt and ran up and down the smooth expanse of her back. When her teeth latched onto the lobe of his ear a bolt of white lightening shot down his spine and he gripped her firm buttocks and pulled her flush with his hips. The contact made both of them moan out in pleasure.

Orihime had never felt this way in her life. Part of her was scared of it, scared of the intensity of her desire; but the other half of her reveled in it. Ichigo wanted her. If she had ever been unsure of that she was convinced after feeling his proof of desire pressed against her. Their cores meeting set the fire building in her belly ablaze and she felt almost light headed with need.

"I think I found a sensitive spot Ichigo." her husky voice spoke low in his ear.

Ichigo felt his eyes roll back in his head and his hips instinctively bucked into hers. "What...what happened to my shy little girlfriend?" his broken voice asked.

She pulled back to gaze into his molten eyes. "Like you said Ichigo, we're alone now." She saw the brief flash of black into his eyes before he crushed his lips against hers and proceeded to dominate her again. She felt his hands, still on her ass, squeezing the flesh there while pulling her into his flexing hips.

Ichigo's mind shut down and he allowed his body to run on instinct alone as his sweet, innocent Orihime seduced every thought out of his mind. He pushed her hips more firmly into his own and was rewarded by a strangled moan from the beauty. She clutched his shoulders tighter and pressed her chest aginst his own until her large breasts were crushed against him.

Sweet mother of God if this kept up he was gonna...but the bedroom was only up the stairs...no, they just got together, he couldn't rush her or disrespect her like that...but she was...oh God she was rolling her hips with his...

"No...freaking...way."

The sound of someone else's voice pierced the lust filled haze and the teens drew apart enough to turn their heads to the side. Ichigo felt as if he had just been thrown into an ice cold lake. He couldn't move, could barely draw his next breath. He felt Orihime stiffen and a small squeak came from her. He couldn't even turn his head to see if she was okay. His hands still had a firm grip on her ass and though this would be the perfect time to move them, he couldn't.

The rest of the Kurosaki family stood at the entrance to the living room with similar looks of shock on their faces. All three of them seemed rooted to the spot as their eyes tried to take in the spectacle in front of them. Whenever Isshin had walked through his front door, this was the _very_last thing he expected to see. Still locked in an embrace, both wearing a deer in the head lights expression, were his son and the beautiful Orihime, who happened to be straddling his son at the moment. His mind was already preparing for the teasing he could get out of this to his horribly shy son; if only he could get his body to get over the shock of seeing him with the sweet girl. Thankfully, his daughters drew him out of his stupor.

"Really? I mean, seriously...really? We go out for breakfast and somehow this happens?" Karin asked, still with the look of absolute disbelief on her face. "Ichi-nii, did you get her drunk?"

"Wha..?" Ichigo tried to respond but his brain was still trying to re-boot.

"Well, I don't really want Ichi-nii to start thinking about leaving us but if it's you Orihime-san it's okay." Yuzu said. She somehow managed to look sad and happy at the same time. "Oh, I need to put this food away. Excuse me." she calmly left for the kitchen.

Isshin finally got himself together, which was more than he could say for his poor son. The boy looked more scared right then than when Aizen was at his strongest. It wouldn't be any fun to torture him now. He would wait until he had his wits about him, then he could play with his mind. Away from Orihime of course. It had taken him long enough to get with the girl, he didn't want to scare her away.

"Wha..."

"Oh jeez, look at him dad. Have you ever seen something so pathetic? And look at poor Orihime. She still hasn't moved! I just know he gave her something. How else could he get with someone like her? That's it, I'm calling Tatsuki." she left the living room in the direction of the stairs.

Isshin felt like he should help the poor couple out. He slowly made his way over to his son and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Ichigo, Karin is calling Tatsuki-chan. Do you really want to let her do that? You know the things she is going to say."

That seemed to do the trick. The life came back into Ichigo's eyes and he quickly, but gently, disentangled himself from Orihime and flew up the stairs. They could hear him scream at his sister.

"Wait! Karin just wait a minute! Let me explain!"

Isshin chuckled as he sat beside the, now, beet red girl. She was hasitly pushing her skirt down and trying to straighten her hair. None of that would help the red marks on her delicate throat though. She looked anywhere but him and he couldn't help but let out a loud laugh and throw his arms across her shoulders.

"Welcome to the family Orihime-chan."


	13. Chapter 13

Orihime waved goodbye to her school friends and made her way home. Rangiku and Toshiro were in deep conversation beside her so she decided not to bother them with small talk. Finally, it was Friday and she could relax. The week had been very hetic; not with school work, but from the mental stress she had endured from her friends and classmates.

After her debacle at the Kurosaki household the previous Saturday, Orihime had let Ichigo escort her home and she proceeded to lock herself inside, vowing to never come out. She still could not believe she and Ichigo had been caught in such a compromising position by his family. Her actions that day made her feel so ashamed. It was just that she had been so caught up in her love and desire for Ichigo that she had completely forgotten her surroundings. Now she felt that she could never show her face again to the members of his family. She was sure his father must think horribly of her.

She had shut herself away in her bedroom and cried over her own actions. Rangiku and Toshiro had tried to get her to come out, but she refused to do so.

Until Tatsuki showed up at her house on Sunday.

Her best friend came into her house and when Orihime wouldn't open her bedroom door Tatsuki showed no mercy and kicked the offending article out of the way. She strode right over to Orihime's bed, where she was currently hiding under the covers, dragged her into the living room, and kicked Toshiro out of the apartment. Tatsuki knew Orihime would still need protection so she allowed Rangiku to stay.

Her best friend went into the kitchen and came back with three very large bowls of ice cream. Orihime eyed her friend wearily but took the dessert. They ate in silence for a few moments before Tatsuki spoke.

"I got the strangest call from Karin-chan."

The moment she said that Orihime tried to run from the couch but Tatsuki threw her legs over the girl and prevented her from leaving. Orihime struggled for only a few more moments before giving up to the karate champion and sulking against the back of the couch. Tatsuki grinned at her and got more comfortable, leaving her legs across the healer.

"She was under the impression that Ichigo had slipped you something then seduced you." This brought a bright red blush to the auburn headed girl's face that sent Tatsuki and Rangiku laughing loudly. "It took me forever to assure her that Ichigo would never have to slip you anything to get you all over him."

"Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime exclaimed loudly.

The other two laughed again at their friends expense. "Come on and spill it Orihime-chan. I want to know every detail!" Rangiku said, propping her arms on the table she sat in front of and watched the girl with wide, expectant eyes. Orihime tried to turn her pleading gaze on Tatsuki but her best friend wore an expression matching Rangiku's. Orihime sighed in defeat and began to tell them of her shame.

When she was finished, the girls were laughing harder than ever. It took several minutes for them to calm down enough to speak.

"I'm sorry Orihime-chan, but that is so funny! Ichigo finally gets up the balls to make a move and you are caught by his whole family! It'll probably take him a year to recover from this and actually kiss you again!" Rangiku laughed at her own statement.

"I'm so glad you two are having a laugh at this. Do you not understand Tatsuki-chan? After all the time it took us to get the Kurosaki girls to finally open up to us they catch me acting like a...a... you know what! And Kurosaki-san! Oh goodness, I can't even begin to think about him. I just know he is so disgusted by me. He'll never want me to see Ichigo-kun or the girls again! I just know he thinks I am a horrible person!" Orihime began crying after her rant and Tatsuki finally took pity on the girl. She put her arms around her best friend and comforted her as she cried.

"Orihime, I know for a fact that isn't true." She didn't respond but she did quit crying. "Kurosaki-san called me himself about an hour after Karin-chan did." She felt Orihime stiffen in her arms but she simply stroked the girls' back and continued. "He was worried about the way you looked when you left his house and he was pretty sure you were gonna react this way. He wanted me to talk to you and try to make you understand he could never think any less of you. He was real sorry about walking in on you two like that and he really hopes that it doesn't effect your relationship with Ichigo."

Orihime finally pulled away from Tatsuki to look in her eyes. "Really Tatsuki-chan?"

She smiled at her best friend. "Yes really. Geez, what did you think Orihime? Just because he caught you kissing his son he was gonna think you were some kind of w...bad girl or something?" Tatsuki quickly caught herself. There was one word she never dared speak in front of Orihime and especially not in the situation they were now. Orihime had only spoken about her mother one time, and even that had been enough for Tatsuki. The subject caused her friend a lot of pain and she never talked about it again. There were a few girls at the school who were extremely jealous of Orihime and behind her back one day one of them had made the grave mistake of calling her a whore. Tatsuki couldn't remember ever being so mad in her life and if her friends from the karate club had not been beside her to hold her down, it had taken four of them, she was truly afraid of what she would have done.

"But Tatsuki-chan, it was a bit more...ummm...heated than that." Orihime finished with a whisper and a fierce blush.

"Yeah, his dad told me. You can't believe how happy he was."

"What?" Orihime asked.

Rangiku laughed. "Orihime-chan, Ichigo is 17 years old now. Every other normal 17 year old boy would be checking out the girls around him, probably trying to get one of them to go out with him. Ichigo has never acted like that. Even though he has had so much placed on his shoulders he still acts so shy and reserved. His father is probably just pleased he's finally acting his age!"

Orihime looked at the pair, still with her confused look on her face.

"I'd say the same about you but I have clearly caught you checking out Ichigo once in a while." Rangiku said and was rewarded by another blush from the girl.

Tatsuki decided she had finally teased her friend enough. "Orihime, both you and Ichigo have already been through so much; but more than that, you have endured more pain and suffering than most people will in a lifetime. You have been taking care of yourself since you were twelve years old. Even though you still have that over active imagination, nothing else in your life has been remotely child like. No matter how _heated_your moment with Ichigo was, or will be again, I nor any of your friends would ever think less of you."

"I can't believe you'd even think we would Orihime-chan. It's not like you are hitting on every guy around you know." Rangiku added.

Orihime studied her friends' eyes and was relieved by the truth and acceptance she saw. She embraced her friends and finally laughed for the first time in what seemed like forever.

After her long talk with her friends that day she had felt much better. She had walked into school with her head held high and when she met up with Ichigo she was able to meet his eyes and return his smile. Neither of them felt the need to announce their relationship to everyone but the subtle changes they were making were being noticed.

They would both look for the other after class. Orihime sometimes came to eat with Ichigo on the roof and leave behind her group of girl friends. Ichigo's hand, more often than not, found it's way to Orihime's back as they walked side by side. The most telling thing was the open happiness displayed on the normal scowling teens face. Keigo caught sight of this one day and ran up to Ichigo demanding to know what was going on. Ichigo had simply held up his arm to which Keigo had run into, falling down painfully on the floor. His glance to Keigo afterward had clearly said _drop it._

Tatsuki had continued to protect Orihime from Chizuru's advances. Ichigo did not share any classes with the exuberant lesbian so he did not see her continued actions. However, one day in the middle of the week he came to get Orihime from her group of friends to walk her home and saw Chizuru walking up behind the healer, preparing to grab her.

His eyes narrowed at the girl and he allowed his reiatsu to leak out. Chizuru watched Ichigo with bated breath as flickers of black came and went across his eyes. His aura was alive with murderous intent. She was held, frozen in place, as he walked past her to grab Orihime's wrist and walk away. Chizuru was never one to back away from a fight when it came to Orihime, but her self-preservation kicked in and she skulked away, crying hard at the loss of her _Hime_.

The couple got a few more odd looks that week and rumors were spreading quickly around school, though no one was brave enough to ask the couple personally if they were in fact dating. Ichigo had gotten a few congratulations from guys but even they had stopped after one lower classmen had told him how lucky he was to be dating the 'hottest piece of ass in Karakura High'. The school nurse had questioned the poor boy again and again but he would never tell her how he managed to break his nose, knock out four teeth, and blacken both eyes.

"Orihime-chan, you're spacing out again. Come on, were at your house." Rangiku said.

Orihime looked up, surprised that they were in fact in front of her home. She had lost herself in thought over everything that had happened that week. She sighed as she walked in, sad that Ichigo could not walk her home because he was going shopping with Yuzu-chan. He had begun allowing Jinta to walk the girls home so he could spend time with her away from their friends. It was always pleasant walking beside him. Sometimes they would stop off to get something to eat after school, though Ichigo would always pale at what she ordered. When they got to her house he would always give her a sweet, gentle kiss before leaving. She couldn't be selfish though, he needed to spend time with his family.

She changed clothes and headed into the kitchen to make her snacks for tomorrow. It was Saturday and Arrancar or not, she was still having her girls day with Tatsuki, Karin, and Yuzu.

* * *

"Oh wow, I love this color Orihime-san!" Yuzu exclaimed as she sat back and admired the job Orihime had done on her nails.

"I agree Yuzu-chan! With a name like cotton-candy pink I just had to get it!" the girls laughed and reached for more of the popcorn Tatsuki had made. The day had been wonderful. Everyone had been able to come and regardless of the threat surrounding them once again, they had all enjoyed the day. It had been Tatsuki's turn to pick a movie and she had surprised everyone by bringing a romantic comedy. She had wiped the surprised looks off their faces with the comment that she would have to get used to watching this because of the love sick teen in their midst. The girls had laughed while Orihime had ducked her head to hide her shy smile.

Rangiku and Toshiro had vacated the apartment to sit on the roof, giving the girls privacy but still being close in range to watch them. Orihime was very thankful for this. She could tell Toshiro still felt badly about what happened with Grimmjow, even though she told him again and again it was her fault for insisting they go. He was being even more polite with her than he normally was and he had been keeping a tight reign on Rangiku, making her keep Orihime's apartment spotless.

"Alright Orihime, I've left it alone all day but i do have to ask, how are things going with my pitiful brother." Karin asked.

Orihime smiled at her. "It's going wonderfully. I never talked with you two either and I apologize for that. Are you okay with me dating Ichigo-kun?"

The twins looked at each other and laughed. "Are you kidding me?" Yuzu said between her giggles.

"Another six months and I would have been setting you two up myself!" Karin said.

"What? Seriously?" Orihime exclaimed.

"Of course Orihime-san. Like I said last weekend, I'm not exactly thrilled about the fact that onii-chan is growing up and away from me but being with Jinta-kun has made me realize that I'm doing the same thing. We're all gonna dift apart, at least a little bit. There's no one I'd rather look after onii-chan than you." Yuzu explained.

"I think you're exactly what ichi-nii needs." Karin said. "Although, it still shocks me that you'd actually want to be with him. You do realize he's kind of thick headed don't you?"

"Karin-chan!"

"Oh come on Yuzu! He doesn't exactly stop the fighting with dad does he? No, he enjoys it! He can be so violent." Karin said.

"And you're so lady like aren't you? I'm pretty sure before you started hanging out with Orihime-san you were just as quick to fight as he is. I seem to be the only pacifist in this family."

"Hey! I can be lady like when I want to be!"

"So you just never want to be, is that it?" Yuzu said.

Orihime intervened before their squabble could turn into something more. "Girls, you might want to gather your things up. It's almost seven and your dad will be here to get you any minute." they both looked at the clock and went about putting their things away.

"I still don't get why dad is insisting on picking us up. We've been coming here by ourselves for the past year." Yuzu grumbled to herself. The other three girls shared a look but Yuzu's words had been meant for herself so they didn't bother coming up with a reply.

Tatsuki leaned closer to Orihime. "Good job there Orihime, it was about to get ugly. I though Yuzu said she was a pacifist." the two older girls laughed quietly to themselves before beginning to clean Orihime's apartment.

Not too long after they were finished, the door bell rang. Orihime opened the door to find Kurosaki Isshin with his normal large smile in place.

"Ah, Orihime-chan! How is my beautiful future daughter-in-law today?"

Orihime pinked at his words. She was glad she had gotten over her previous embarrassment at being caught with Ichigo, but Isshin-san continued to find ways to embarrass her everyday. Although his words made her blush, she was very happy that he seemed to support her being with his son. She was so glad nothing had changed in the relationship she shared with both him and his daughters.

"Can it goat-chin! Quit embarrassing Orihime-nee like that or she won't ever want to come back to the house." Karin said as she came up behind the pair with her bag over her shoulder. Orihime was no longer surprised at the touching suffix Karin would sometimes add to her name. Tatsuki had pointed it out to her once and the girl had actually looked embarrassed as she explained to them she didn't do it on purpose. It warmed Orihime's very soul to know she held such a place in the girl's heart.

"I'm not trying to embarrass her Karin! Please don't stop coming over Orihime-chan! What would I do if I didn't have your smiling face to brighten up my household! Even Yuzu is more distant from me and my other children are so mean to their father! Damn you adolescence! You have taken my children away from me!" Isshin fell to his knees as he cried out dramatically. Karin didn't miss a beat as she kicked her father in the stomach causing him to roll down Orihime's stairs and to the sidewalk.

"Karin-chan! You're going to hurt oto-san!" Yuzu ran after her father.

"It's really, really hard to believe he was a captain." Karin said under her breath to Orihime. Though she agreed, Orihime kept silent.

Tatsuki gave Orihime a hug and left as well. The household was once again silent for a few moments before Rangiku and Toshiro came back inside through the window.

"Did you have fun Orihime-chan?" Rangiku asked.

"It's always fun with them. I'm sorry you guys had to sit on the roof."

"Don't be. Captain loves being up there and I amused myself by messing with him." Rangiku said the last part in a whisper to Orihime. The girls giggled causing Toshiro to look over at them. This only made them laugh harder.

After dinner, the trio talked for a while before heading off to their own sleeping areas. Orihime had just drifted off when she felt someone's reiatsu she didn't recognize. Before she could try to find it, it disappeared again. She laid still in her bed, waiting to see if the person would come back. After an hour and she didn't feel anything again, she began to get sleepy. She shifted and got comfortable before she felt out for Rangiku and Toshiro's reiatsu; satisfied that they were still with her in the apartment, and apparently sleeping themselves she allowed sleep to take her over.

* * *

Orihime awoke to the sounds of metal clashing nearby. There was no light filtering through the windows and a glance at her alarm clock told her it was 4:18 in the morning. Another loud clash had her rushing to her bedroom door and throwing it aside.

She glanced into the living room, horrified to find Toshiro locked in battle with an Arrancar. The reiatsu coming off him was so powerful she had a hard time believing he wasn't an Espada. Toshiro seemed to be moving the battle away from one side of the room. When she glanced over a silent scream ripped from her mouth as she saw Rangiku slumped on the floor, blood pouring from a large, jagged wound down her right arm.

She pushed herself close to the wall and ran as quick as she could toward Rangiku. She ducked and rolled out of the way when Toshiro's body came flying into the wall near her. She looked back to see if he needed help but he was already gone again, lunging after the Arrancar. She finally made it to Rangiku and was overwhelmed with relief to find her still alive. Orihime quickly called out her Soten Kisshun and began healing her.

"Or..i..hime." Rangiku's pain filled voice called out.

"Shhh...it's okay Rangiku-san, I'm here and I'm gonna heal you." Orihime put her shield out in front of her and Rangiku then focused her powers on closing Rangiku's wounds.

"He snuck up on us. I..I don't know how but he was able to hide his reiatsu well. We didn't know he was here until he was attacking." she said from under the golden dome.

"They've never been able to hide their reiatsu that well, but...he's more powerful than the others who've come." Orihime said as she watched the battle. Toshiro landed a powerful hit to the Arrancar's chest throwing him through the wall and into the street. From her apartment she could hear Toshiro call out his bankai form.

"Yeah he is. Heal me as fast as you can Orihime-chan. I've got to get out there and help my captain."

"I know. I'll go as fast as I can." Orihime raised her reiatsu. Mere minutes later Rangiku's injuries were closed and Orihime dispelled her technique. Just as she was getting up the girls heard Toshiro's pain filled cry rip through the air.

"No Captain!" Rangiku used her shunpo to rush out of the apartment. Orihime sat there warring with herself. She wanted to go help so badly. She was scared for her friends but she also knew that her power was not enough to fight an Arrancar of that caliber. She sat in the same position on the floor, holding her arms to her chest and praying for her friends safety.

The battle was moving further and further away until she could no longer hear the clash of blades. Slowly, she rose from the floor to go look out of the large whole that now existed in her wall. She held onto the sides of the broken wood so she wouldn't fall the two stories down and scanned her surroundings; searching for any sign of her friends. Too late she noticed the flash of reiatsu to her right but she was unable to stop the attack. She felt someone's hand grab her arm and hurl her out of her building. She crashed painfully into the ground, rolling several times before she came to a stop. She sat up slowly, mentally tallying up her injuries. Nothing was broken but she had several painful cuts on her arms and legs. Unfortunately, she had not had time to change out of her pajamas, so she was only clad in the soft, silky, light blue camisole and shorts.

"What a pathetic human. I still don't understand why Aizen-sama found you so interesting." the dark voice called out to her.

She looked up to find an Arrancar hovering over her. His short, green hair stuck out from the white outfit he wore. His sword was still sheathed at his side but his hand rested against the hilt. Orihime couldn't help but notice that he wasn't unattractive. He had dark brown eyes, a straight nose, and a strong jawline. If his lips weren't drawn back over his teeth in a sneer she might have even gone so far as to say he was handsome.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Normally I wouldn't bother answering you but since you are going to be spending a lot of time with me I'll let you know. I am Venceslas and I am the one who is going to be taking you back to Hueco Mundo." he lowered himself to the ground and began walking towards her.

Orihime threw up her shield and fired Tsubaki at him. He used his sonido to avoid Tsubaki and quickly fired a cero at her. The shield protected her but it also crumbled under the force of the attack.

"I've watched all your little tricks Inoue Orihime. You won't be able to catch me off guard." he continued his slow pace towards her. She couldn't think up a plan. Nothingness filled her head as the horror of being captured again crashed into her. Adrelaine pumped into her veins triggering her fight or flight instinct and with nothing to help her she gave into her body's demands and took off running through the darkened streets. His evil laughter followed her.

"Yes, that's it! Run for me little girl! I love the chase."

Terror filled her anew and she pushed herself to move faster. She weaved in and out of alleyways. The rocks and litter on the ground cut the tender soles of her shoeless feet but she never slowed down. She could feel Toshiro's reiatsu but it was far off. She ran faster. She had to get to him. Even if he was still fighting the other Arrancar, Rangiku would be with him and she would at least have some help.

The thought of going to Ichigo flashed in her mind but she pushed that idea aside almost instantly. There was no way she would place his family in danger like that. Urahara's shop was even farther away than Toshiro was so she had no other choice.

She dashed into the park ahead and went blindly into the trees. It was still dark outside and the lack of lighting made it even harder to see. Several times she stumbled over a root or ran into the side of a tree but she continued to right herself quickly and press on. When she was into the cluster of trees far enough she stopped for a moment to catch her breath. Fear was making her hands shake. Her breath came in short, ragged gasps and she willed herself to calm down. Her powers spoke encouraging words to her mind and urged her to continue on.

A presence flashed above her. She turned and ran again just as a small cero blasted near where she had been resting.

"Oh come on, you can do better than this." Venceslas teasing voice called over the canopy of trees.

Orihime turned sharply to her right, where she knew the park exited close to a group of buildings. When she cleared the park she made a mad dash for the alleyway. She could feel his presence still near the park so she had avoided him for the moment. Her feet pounded the pavement as she ran behind the buildings. A cry nearly tore from her throat as the side of a dumpster caught her arm and sliced the tender flesh in two. She bit her lip and continued running through the pain.

A nearby shop came into view that she recognized. She had ran nearly three miles already and her legs were beginning to burn with the effort. Her lungs were straining with every breath she took but she pressed onward. If she stopped she would be captured and she knew that Ichigo would follow her again into Hueco Mundo. Just the thought of him fighting again in that horrid place made tears sting her eyes. She had to get away, she couldn't let them take her back there.

A nearby burst of reiatsu gave her a tiny spark of hope and she pushed herself in it's direction. She was close; Rangiku and Toshiro were just ahead. Faster and faster she ran, ignoring the pain in her feet and arm as she headed for her friends.

He shot out of the doorway in front of her so fast she couldn't stop or avoid him. She barrelled into Venceslas' chest and felt his arms close in around her. She fought like a wildcat then. She thrashed, kicked, and scratched at any area she could get to. His arms held her like a vice and no matter how hard she pushed against him she couldn't get away. He allowed her to fight him for a few moments, but he must have gotten tired of it, for he pulled back and backhanded her so sharply that her lip split and her vision clouded for a moment.

"Well, that was fun but I'm afraid we need to get going. It seems my partner is nearly dead and I'm sure your stubborn little friends will be looking for you the moment he is." He lifted his hand and opened a garganta beside them. Orihime took that opportunity to kick him hard in the shin and push away from him. She caught him off guard and he released her. She ran away from him but did not get very far before she felt him grab her around the neck, squeezing until she couldn't draw a breath.

"Is this what you want Inoue Orihime? Do you want me to punish you for trying to hurt me?" he spun her around to make her face him. His dark eyes were piercing as he looked at her and she knew then that to provoke him would bring her pain in ways she didn't want to think about. He still had a strong grip on her throat so all she could do was nod. He released his hold enough that she could breath and he began dragging her back towards the garganta.

Tears rolled down her face at her failure. She had tried, she had tried so hard but she just wasn't strong enough. She looked into the black garganta and could already feel it's walls closing in on her. Panic began to take hold and her hands flew up to grip the one holding her throat. Even if it meant incurring his wrath she began to struggle again. She couldn't go back to Hueco Mundo. She had promised Tatsuki she wouldn't disappear again, she promised Ichigo she wouldn't leave again. Her struggles were for naught as he dragged her towards the black opening.

* * *

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**A/N: I'm sorry! Please don't hate me for the cliff hanger! It was just the perfect ending to the chapter and I just had to do it. Is she going to Hueco Mundo or is she going to get away? Decisions, decisions. **

**Over 100 reviews! Thank you all so much! It was the best Christmas present I could have gotten! Thank you klrob for being number 100!**

**But it would have never happened without all of you. Once again I offer my most heartfelt thanks to all the fans of this story. We are over the halfway point of the story now, and don't worry...for all of Ichigos hollow's fans out there he's coming back soon. **

**Thank you all again! There won't be another chapter until the New Year so until then be safe and happy!**


	14. Chapter 14

Orihime's hands stilled on the stronger ones gripping her throat. They were close to the garganta, so close she could now feel the depressing atmosphere of the black opening. Tears welled in her eyes again.

Was this all she could do? After everything she had been through, all the training she had done, was she going to be reduced to being used as a captive again? She had never been too strong and her unwillingness to hurt anyone, human or not, had always been an obstacle for her; but, then again she'd always had someone to fight her battles for her. Tatsuki always defended her from the perverts and bullies, Ichigo, along with Ishida and Sado, defended her from the hollows. Even her own brother, Sora, had been her protector. He had taken her from their parents home where she only had fleeting memories of an older man who would hit her, and a scantily clad woman who did nothing but tell her how she ruined her life. Sora had taken her away from that and raised her in a warm, loving atmosphere.

Why did she always have to be so useless? Why did she always have to rely on others to fight for her? Tatsuki had more than once gotten black eyes or bruises from fighting off the men who tried to touch her and the bullies who pushed her around, her brother had given up his future to take care of her, and Ichigo...Ichigo had literally given his life to protect her. The one time she tried to protect her friends, she inadvertently put them in more danger when they came to rescue her.

Images from Hueco Mundo invaded her mind and became twisted with the hellish nightmares she suffered from at night.

She wouldn't let it happen again.

She knew she wasn't a match for the Arrancar dragging her, but that didn't matter. Giving up to him now meant allowing Ichigo to come after her and possibly dying again. She had always put her blind faith into Ichigo's abilities and determination. His strength was god-like in her eyes and she thought of him as unstoppable. Somehow she always knew he would be okay, but the events from the war taught her differently. No matter how strong he was, he was still mortal. Death was merely something he had been able to avoid for the time being, sometimes by a very narrow margin.

She had sworn to herself when she returned that she wouldn't rely on his strength anymore. She would get better, stronger, and if nothing else, she would learn to defend herself properly. If she went to Hueco Mundo she would be breaking a promise she had made not only to herself, but to Tatsuki and Ichigo as well; the two most important people in her life.

Her strength may not be a match for his but she could still fight. Even if it meant her death, she would die in the world of the living and would not make a liar of herself to those she cared about.

Orihime closed her eyes and began giving instructions to her powers. They were all strangely quiet and respectful, even the normally loud Tsubaki. Considering she had just decided to fight, even if it meant her death, she was a little surprised; until she felt herself connect, strongly, with them all. Their feelings were the same; if she was resolved to make a stand against this opponent, regardless against the outcome, they would follow her proudly.

Orihime smiled and allowed her powers to burst forth. Venceslas lost his grip around her throat as her shield burst forth from her body and pushed him away. Her remaining three powers grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back from the garganta. They didn't let her go until they were far enough away from the black opening to fight safely.

Her shield returned to stand in front of her as she stared the Arrancar down. A soft, golden glow surrounded her body and her heart was unwavering, even when the Arrancar stood and faced her.

"So you will defy me anyway? Are you prepared for the consequences of your actions Inoue Orihime?" he asked, unmoving as he stood across from her.

"I made a promise that I intend to keep." she calmly replied.

He slowly drew his sword from his sheath. "Is this promise worth your life?"

Her eyes never left his. "It is."

"So be it."

He lunged for her, slamming his sword down onto her shield. The force of the impact made her take a few steps back but the shield didn't break. She swung her hand down and Tsubaki, who had been hovering just over head, shot down towards the Arrancar's arm. Venceslas jumped back to avoid the attack but brought his sword up to defend against the parry Orihime had directed to him.

Orihime's face showed the strain she was using against the powerful Arrancar. Her control of Tsubaki was tight at the moment. Instead of firing him once and allowing him to return to her, she was keeping his attacks shorter so she could immediately send him in another direction. She could feel her connection with him and instead of calling her spirit chants, she could control his movement with a sweep of her arm. Since he was small, she had been able to avoid all of Venceslas' counter attack towards Tsubaki, but the Arrancar was still defending himself successfully against all of her attempts to bring him down.

She brought Tsubaki up behind him, hoping to catch Venceslas off guard but he was ready for her. He spun around quickly and caught Tsubaki with the flat of his blade. The force of the swing threw Tsubaki into the building nearby and crippled his wings. Orihime watched as his eyes closed and he returned to her hairpins.

"Not bad human, but not near good enough." Venceslas said as he fired a cero at her.

Orihime was thrown back. The shield protected her but cracked under the pressure of the cero. The Arrancar sped towards her with his sword raised. Orihime quickly summoned her shield but used it to slam against him and push him back. She forced her shield to expand and wrap completely around Venceslas.

"What the hell is this?" he screamed in rage and swung his sword again and again against the golden barrier but could not break it.

"Oh thank Kami." Orihime sighed as she slumped down. She was tired, sore, and cold...but she was alive and not in Hueco Mundo. A small chuckle escaped her lips as she threw her head back and regarded the night sky. The stars shown brightly and she revealed in their presence. The night sky was dark and empty in Hueco Mundo and sometimes over the past year, she had walked out of her house just to stare at the stars. _I'm not going back there, not like this. I won't allow myself to break my promise to Ichigo ever again. _She smiled as the wind gently caressed her naked shoulders and even though she shivered from the cold, she was glad to be feeling it.

A growl made her head snap up and her eyes widened in horror. Venceslas was staring at her with an evil grin in place. She watched, as he gathered his energy in his hand and fired a large cero. She heard her powers scream as their shield was ripped apart. She threw her arms up to shield her face from the blazing heat the cero created. His laughter reached her ears and she glanced up to find him standing, still a good distance away from her, free from any confines. His clothes were tattered and scorched from the blast he had created but he looked free from any other injuries. Her connection with her powers was weakened but she could tell they were injured and would not be able to form the Santen Kesshun.

He began laughing and the sound made Orihime's blood run cold. "That was good. That was damn good bitch. Oh, I'm gonna enjoy this even more now." he took a few steps towards her and she scrambles backwards, trying to put more distance between them. "You're done now aren't you? Your pathetic little fairies are outta power." a large grin split his face and his eyes shown with malice. "I'm gonna enjoy watching your blood spray across the ground."

He ran towards her and Orihime could do nothing more than watch. She had no defense, no attack, nothing to aide her. She closed her eyes so she couldn't watch his evil face as he killed her. _At least I kept my promise. _

An explosion made her eyes fly open. Halfway to her, something had stopped the Arrancar. She couldn't tell what had happened yet. The ground had been split, chunks of earth were blown away, and a cloud of dust covered the area, blocking her vision.

Orihime watched as the dust began to settle and at first all she could see was black. Her eyes raised slowly as the air cleared more. Her heart leaped in her chest as Ichigo's profile came into view. He stood over the fallen Arrancar with his sword pointed at his chest.

"What the fuck?" she heard Venceslas whisper.

Orihime opened her mouth to call to Ichigo but his reiatsu gave her pause. It had been a while since she had felt it but she would never forget the feeling. The dark, oppressing reiatsu that always felt as if it were smothering her. She shuddered as she realized the person in front of her was not her beloved. He tilted his head towards her and she stared, shocked, into his black eyes. Light reflected off the bleached bone that was already covering one eye.

Ever since he had trained with the vizards he had control over his hollow. The only time he had been taken over was during his battle with Ulquiorra.

How had this happened?

* * *

_Earlier..._

Ichigo's heart pumped furiously as he dashed towards Orihime's house.

He had been laying in bed, almost asleep when he felt the burst of reiatsu he didn't recognize near her house. He knew Toshiro and Rangiku were with her but he couldn't help but to go check on them. He brought his badge to his chest and leapt out of the house in shinigami form.

A cry from nearby made him veer direction to help a soul being chased by a hollow. Now that he was closer to Orihime's he could better feel the amount of reiatsu leaking out. He wasn't surprised by the appearance of the hollow. He was sure it had been drawn in by the reiatsu cloaking the area. After he defeated the hollow he preformed a quick konso on the soul and used his shunpo to rush to Orihime's. What he found there made his blood boil.

There was a large hole in her wall, exposing her apartment to the cold environment. None of the inhabitants were there and near the kitchen was a small puddle of blood. Ichigo clenched his fists and fought back his own hollow who was pushing at the constraints of his soul, begging to get out. Ichigo focused and sought for Orihime's reiatsu. He locked onto it and ran in that direction.

As he passed over head a park he noticed the aftermath of an explosion that had ripped the trees apart. He felt the lingering traces of her reiatsu and his grip on Zangetsu tightened. There was no blame he could place on Toshiro. He felt the young captain's reiatsu locked in battle with another Arrancar just ahead of Orihime. Dammit, he should have kept a better watch on her! Just how desperate were they to get to her that they would attack an apartment with a captain in it?

_**"Who fucking cares? Just let me get to them!"**_

_"Would you back off? You're distracting me from following her reiatsu!"_

_**"That's not hard to do anyway."**_

_"Shut up! Why do you want out so bad anyway?"_

_**"You have to ask? You are so fucking dense. I still don't know how you manage to beat me sometimes."**_

_"What does that make you then?"_

_**"Hurry up! That could have been **_**her **_**blood on the floor! She could be dying somewhere right now!" **_Ichigo felt his hollow wrestle him for control after that statement. He struggled with himself for a moment before gaining control again and rushing to where he sensed Orihime.

He reached a line of buildings and froze at what he saw. Orihime was on the ground, still clad in her pajamas, bleeding from multiple areas of her body. An Arrancar stood across from her. He was preparing to go down to her when the Arrancar laughed and said something he couldn't hear. He could, however, see Orihime stiffen and try to pull herself backwards. Ichigo's own emotions were so volitale that he didn't even sense his hollow move. Before he could even react he felt the pull at his concious and his vision cloud over as his hollow gained control of his body. As he lost consciousness he heard his hollow's own dark laugh.

_**"I told you what would happen if someone messed with our bitch."**_

_**

* * *

**_

The Arrancar stood slowly. Ichigo's body still stood across from him with his sword pointed to his chest but he didn't make any move to stop Venceslas. Orihime sat completely still, afraid to draw attention to herself at all.

"So you came to save that pathetic woman have you? I was planning on drawing you to Hueco Mundo but it seems I'll have to fight you here." The Arrancar grabbed his fallen sword and raised it as if to attack.

**"You made a bad mistake Arrancar. You've messed with what's ours." **

Orihime could barely see Ichigo's body move after she heard the muffled voice of his hollow speak. He slammed into Venceslas and threw his body into a building. He didn't allow him a moment's reprieve but followed him and wrenched him from the wreckage. He brought his sword down and sliced off the Arrancars arm. His scream of agony reverberated around the area.

Orihime watched on in horror as the hollow controlling Ichigo's body dominated the fight. It wasn't really a fight anymore. The Arrancar tried to defend himself but the difference in power was too great and all he could do was scream time and time again as he was hit, cut, and thrown all over the place. Ichigo's hollow was toying with him; dragging the fight out to torture Venceslas as much as he could. She was momentarily frozen with fear. This was similar to the incident on the dome. Ulquiorra had not done any damage to his hollow then either and he seemed to want to play with his prey before ending their lives.

Ichigo's hollow was so strong it was terrifying.

Another scream pierced the air and Orihime looked over to see Ichigo's hollow holding Venceslas by his throat while his sword had pierced his side. It wasn't a killing blow and the Arrancar's face contorted in agony. His body was battered, limbs were missing, and his eyes pleaded for death. Orihime wrapped her arms around herself to try and calm the tremors wracking her body. Tears poured unbidden down her face and she didn't even realize she had begun speaking aloud.

"Please stop...please...please stop...please." she whispered over and over again.

Ichigo's hollow looked to her shaking form and his shoulders slumped a bit. He pulled his sword from the Arrancar's body and brought his face closer to his own.

**"You'd better thank her." **

He turned his body around so his back shielded his actions from Orihime and swiftly beheaded the Arrancar. He threw his body away from the area and shook the blood from Zangetsu before strapping it to his back. He slowly made his way over to the frightened girl, trying not to startle her. He watched as she drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms tight around them as she studied him. He knelt in front of her and stayed still, allowing her to make the first move.

Orihime calmed a bit as she regarded the hollow across from her. He hadn't moved since he knelt in front of her and she took this as a good sign. He could have killed her a long time ago if he'd wanted to right? She uncurled herself a bit and simply sat watching him as he was doing her. His reiatsu seemed...calm. At least that's what it felt like. It was still heavy but it wasn't smothering her as bad as before. The bone on his face had only covered his left eye and partially down his cheek before stopping.

What had he meant earlier when he said she belonged to 'them'? Was he really meaning he thought of her as his too? It was true he had never harmed her. Even in his fully hollowed state against Ulquiorra he never hurt her. He had even said he would save her, but she had never been sure if that wasn't Ichigo speaking. Although, he had been confused when he woke up, not knowing that he was the one who had mortally wounded Ulquiorra and stabbed Ishida. So was Ichigo's hollow actually protecting her?

She sat up straighter and was pleased he had still made no move towards her. He seemed to be waiting for her. What did one say to someone who scared the living daylights out of you and made the person you love fight for control all the time? But...he did save her, and he had brought Ichigo back when she couldn't do anything.

"Thank you." she timidly whispered. The hollow tilted his head for a moment, eyeing her critically, before he threw his head back and laughed loudly. The sound startled her and she scooted back unconsciously.

**"I'm sorry queen but that was too good. Look at you! You're shaking in fear but you're thanking me?"**

The grin he wore now was not like the one he had on during the battle. It wasn't the grin of someone who was enjoying torturing his victim. His was now...playful? Can hollows even feel that way? But this was Ichigo's hollow, he resided in a living person who had their heart and soul. Maybe he was different than others.

"Well, you...you did save me. Again. I thought thanking you was the right thing to do." she replied.

**"Such a good girl." **he chuckled again but his face lost its grin as he scanned her body. **"You're bleeding."**

Orihime looked down and surveyed her own body. There were various cuts all along her arms and legs. A large wound ran the length of her upper arm from where she had sliced it on the dumpster. "I'm okay. I'll bandage them later."

**"Fucking Arrancar. Thinks he can touch what's mine." **

"Umm...about that." she began.

He grinned at her again. **"What? Make no mistake 'Hime, you belong to us." **

Orihime opened her mouth to speak again but his hand flew to his mask and began to pull. **"Tch. Looks like Ichigo wants to come back out. Oh well, I've done what I want. See you later queen." **

She watched as the mask dissolved away in a flash of black reiatsu and Ichigo's eyes returned to normal. His lighter reiatsu now enveloped her and the smothering feeling was gone.

His hands gripped her shoulders. "Orihime, are you okay? What happened? Did my hollow do anything to you?" Panic flickered across his eyes and though he was hurting her shoulders a bit with his grip she rushed to reassure him.

"I'm okay Ichigo-kun. No, your hollow didn't hurt me. He protected me and he destroyed the Arrancar."

Ichigo looked away from her to survey the damage to the area. The ground was ripped apart, bricks from a nearby building littered the ground from where a hole had been torn into the wall, looking past the carnage Ichigo could see the body of the Arrancar. He couldn't see all the damage to it but he could tell it was missing it's head. He shuddered at the grotesque display of violence his hollow had committed.

"Bastard. He snuck up on me. Completely caught me off guard and took over." he sighed and turned his attention back to Orihime. He was relieved to find out his hollow had not harmed her but he could tell she had been frightened by the experience. He cursed himself again and began to question wether he should even stay with the gentle woman. He had a monster inside of him and she deserved so much more, so much better than him.

Orihime watched as Ichigo's eyes began to show their remorse for the situation they were now in. She knew he hated when his hollow took over. He hated not being in control but even more was the thought that his hollow could hurt someone he cared for...again. His grip on her shoulders began to slack and she forgot her own troubles for a moment. He was allowing his guilt to swallow him again and she wouldn't allow him to feel guilty for something he never did.

She reached her hands out to cup his cheeks in her palms. "Ichigo, you didn't do anything okay? Your hollow didn't hurt me. Please stop looking like that."

"You're scared." he replied. She opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off. "Don't try to deny it Orihime. I know. You were scared and I caused that." He continued to look away, not able to meet her eyes.

"No." her sharp reply made his head snap up and meet her strong gaze. "You didn't cause it so stop thinking that right now. Yes, I was scared. I'm sorry but your hollow is a very, very strong individual and I wasn't sure what he wanted. I was scared because he was enjoying the fight; he was enjoying what he was doing to that Arrancar."

Ichigo lowered his eyes again but Orihime gently tilted his head up so he would look at her again. "Then he came and spoke to me. He never tried to hurt me. Actually, at first he didn't say anything and I think he was letting me get used to him. He knew he had scared me and I think he wanted me to get used to being in his presence...to show me he wouldn't do anything to me."

Ichigo studied her face and was relieved to find she was telling the truth. "I don't know what he's thinking but I'm gonna beat the shit out of him later for pulling that stunt." he finally said. Orihime giggled and it was like music to his ears. "You're hurt. We need to get your injuries taken care of."

"I'm okay, first we need to go find Toshiro and Rangiku and see if they need help." Orihime replied. The wind picked up again and Orihime shivered from the cold.

"Damn, sorry I forgot about your clothes." He really had forgot but that's because he had been forcing himself not to look any lower than her face. One glance had given him more than enough material to fuel his dreams for months. He stood and removed his kosode to wrap around her.

Orihime blushed as Ichigo's chiseled chest and abdomen were on display so _very_close to her face. "B...but...but Ichigo-kun I can't wear your kosode! You'll get cold!" she exclaimed as he bent to fit it firmly around her shoulders.

Ichigo swallowed thickly as he had inadvertently caught a glimpse of her hardened nipples beneath her thin top. "It...it's okay Orihime, I'm fine. Besides, you really think I'm gonna just let you walk around like that?" she blushed again as she remembered what she was wearing. She shoved her arms through the openings and wrapped the garment around her. "Ah, I see you agree." he chuckled lightly as he stood and helped her up. "Come on. We'll go check and see how the others are doing."

Orihime grabbed his hand. "Ichigo-kun?" he looked down at her. "I love you."

Ichigo's eyes softened and he tightened his grip on her hand. He bent down and softly kissed her lips, being mindful of her injuries. Her eyes seemed to sparkle as he pulled away and he couldn't help the smile on his face. He picked her up gently and left in the direction of Toshiro and Rangiku.

He had hardened himself over time after the death of his beloved mother. He had been scared to let anyone mean so much to him again. She had been his world, and his inability to protect her had left a piece of him broken. Now that he could protect all he held dear that broken piece of him was slowly mending. He loved his family and friends dearly but what he felt for Orihime was beyond that. He had never experienced it before but his emotionally slow brain was catching up. Orihime had been patient with him so far, he only hoped she could be for just a little longer.


	15. Chapter 15

"No, no, no! Absolutely not!" Orihime exclaimed from her position on Ichigo's back. He was carrying her to his house so his father could tend to her wounds.

Rangiku and Toshiro had met them halfway, both of them were battered but had no serious injuries. Rangiku had fussed over Orihime as Toshiro and Ichigo talked about the attack. He explained that a second Arrancar had joined the fight and he had been momentarily overwhelmed until Rangiku showed up. Together, they were able to defeat both of them. Toshiro announced he and Rangiku would go back to Orihime's apartment and survey the damage there. He knew he had torn a hole into the side of her wall when he threw the Arrancar out. He would have to call a crew from Soul Society to come repair the damages and he expected it to take 3 days to repair.

Orihime was exhausted and her powers had sustained damages of their own. She was unable to heal herself at the moment so Ichigo decided to take her to his father to get her injuries cared for. On the way to his house he told her she would just have to stay with him until the repairs were finished on her apartment. Orihime refused that idea immediately.

That's when the arguement began.

"Orihime, you're staying and that's final." Ichigo said.

"Nope. I'm sorry about this Ichigo-kun but I am going to have to refuse you. I will not be staying with your family tonight for any reason what-so-ever."

"Do you not understand what the meaning of final is 'Hime?" Ichigo ground out. He was quickly learning his girlfriend had a stubborn streak about her.

Orihime sighed against his shoulders. "You're not winning this argument Ichigo-kun. No matter what you say."

"Orihime."

"You would think you two were trying to wake everyone up with your arguing."

Orihime looked up, red faced, to find Kurosaki Isshin leaning against his doorway watching them with a smile on his face. She had not realized they had made it to his house yet and was embarrassed at her behavior...again.

"I'm so sorry Kurosaki-san." she whispered.

He laughed and moved aside to let his son in the house. "Don't be Orihime-chan. I was teasing. You two weren't that loud. Now what happened?" his normally playful face fell and a serious look replaced it.

"She's too tired to heal herself old man. I need you to take a look at her." Ichigo said walking towards the back of the house where the clinic was.

Isshin followed the pair, noticing the cuts on Orihime's feet and legs. Ichigo's kosode was long on Orihime, covering her down to her knees so he couldn't see beyond that at the moment. He had noticed the look in Ichigo's eyes when he came in. Apparently Orihime had another close call.

Ichigo sat Orihime down gently on one of the exam tables and stepped back to allow his father to examine her. "Orihime-chan, take off the kosode please." Isshin said as he gathered his materials and moved to the side of the table. He watched as she removed the covering, her face wincing at intervals as the cloth rubbed against her injuries. Most of the cuts were superficial needing only to be cleaned and bandaged, however, the injury to her upper arm would need stiches.

"What happened Ichigo?" he asked his son without turning around.

"Arrancar. It showed up in her apartment and lured Toshiro and Rangiku-san out to fight so the other one that showed up could attack Orihime."

"Hmmm...by these injuries I assume you were running around town barefoot then?" he asked her with a slight smile on his face. Her feet were bleeding from various cuts and her skin was cold. He tried to be as gentle as he could as he cleaned the blood and dirt off before he applied an anti-septic ointment.

She smiled back but winced when the medicine he applied stung her injuries. "Yes sir. He threw me out of the apartment so I didn't have a choice. As you can see I was in bed when the attack came."

Isshin had already taken note of her attire. Her silky pajamas, while still being decent, were quite attractive on the beautiful woman. He was having fun watching his shy son try to keep his eyes averted from her figure. He was failing for the most part if the massive blush on his face was any indicator.

"Have they been taken care of?" Isshin asked.

"Of course! Would I be back here if they weren't?" Ichigo said.

"Just asking. Orihime-chan, is your apartment safe to return to tonight?" he asked the healer but his son answered.

"No it isn't and she's staying here tonight." Ichigo said.

"I already told you I wasn't." Orihime replied.

"Orihime, I'm not going to argue about this. You can't stay at your apartment so you are going to stay here so I can protect you and that's final!"

"Not happening Ichigo-kun. I am not going to stay here! Did you not hear Toshiro-kun earlier when he explained what happened? That Arrancar hid his reiatsu so well they didn't even know he was there until the attack came! I am not going to put your family in danger like that so just forget it!"

Ichigo stalked over to the exam table, put his hands on either side of her thighs, and leaned close to her. His voice was low but his eyes were blazing with emotion. "I am not letting you stay somewhere unprotected for the night. Do you really think I can't handle whatever Arrancar is stupid enough to attack here?"

She didn't pull away from his heated glare. "I'm not saying that and you know it. However, be realistic about this Ichigo-kun. I am the weak link and they will come after me. Not you. I know you can handle whoever shows up, your father too for that matter, but I am not going to put your sisters in danger like that."

Isshin watched the conversation with poorly veiled amusement. They became so wrapped up in each other that they obviously forgot he was there. His son was going to lose this argument, he recognized the look in Orihime's eyes. His wife had worn the same look whenever she was determined to get her way. He didn't want Orihime in any danger either, and he wished she would reconsider and stay with them, though he knew she wouldn't. She would continue to try and protect those she cared about in any way she could. With this last attack coming from inside her home, she would never stay with them if it put his daughters in danger.

"Ichgio, if you don't mind I need to finish bandaging Orihime-chan's wounds. Flirt with your girlfriend later." Isshin said. He laughed as Ichigo became flustered and red faced before he found his bearings again.

"Shut up! I'm trying to get her to listen to reason here!" Ichigo yelled at his father.

Isshin sighed, "So I see but I'm telling you it's not going to work. You've got a lot to learn boy." he ushered Ichigo back to his place on the wall and stood beside Orihime again. He began cleaning the wound on her arm and preparing to stich it up.

"I take it your wife could be stubborn too." Orihime shyly whispered to Isshin.

He chuckled. "Oh you have no idea. She had a way of twisting the argument around until I found myself agreeing with her! I finally learned that sometimes it was just better for me to shut up and go along with whatever she wanted."

They laughed and as Isshin continued his work on her arm he lapsed into another story of his wife. Ichigo lounged against the wall and even though he was irritated that Orihime would not budge on the matter of her lodgings for the night, he watched the scene with a small smile on his face. Orihime's smile was breathtaking; even in pain and bleeding as she was she still smiled and laughed along with his crazy father. Her eyes sparkled with mirth and at that moment he wished his mother was still alive so she could meet Orihime. He knew they would have gotten along so well. He could see it so plainly in his mind it was almost painful. The two of them laughing together as he and his father argued over nonsense, in the kitchen sharing recipes, his mother taking pictures as he and Orihime walked around the Tanabata festival (it was Orihime and his mother's favorite), his mother helping him pick out the perfect ring for her...

His heart began beating so fast he was surprised he didn't get dizzy. His eyes were wide and suddenly he was glad his father and Orihime were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't notice him.

He knew what he wanted. Kami, he could be so slow sometimes to see the answers that were right in front of his face. He wanted _everything_with Orihime. He wanted to be beside her. He wanted a life with her and everything that entailed. College, a wedding, a house, kids, grandchildren,...eternity. It hit him so fast his hand clutched the front of his kosode as he fought to stay upright. Visions of a life that he so desperately wanted flashed in his mind and he felt his soul ache for it.

He loved her.

It seemed so simple now that he was amazed he had never understood it before.

He was in love with her.

He wanted her by his side for the rest of his life. When his mortal life was over he would find her in Soul Society.

He was deeply in love with Orihime.

His eyes softend as he watched his beautiful healer laughing with his father. He wanted that smile to be the first thing he saw everyday when he woke up. He wanted to hear the sounds of his children laughing with their mother and when he went to bed at night, he wanted to be wrapped around her body.

He **would **have it.

Ichigo didn't care what came, he would stop it. He would protect her forever and one day he would have everything he wanted...what they wanted. She loved him. It really wasn't a far stretch in his mind to think that just maybe she shared the same dreams as he did in that respect.

"Ichigo!"

"Huh?" his eyes snapped over to meet his father's curious gaze.

Isshin slapped his hand over his face. "Would you pay attention boy? How I raised a such a disrespectful son I'll never know."

Ichigo was embarrassed to have been so caught up in his thoughts he never heard his father calling him. "Shut up old man. What do you want?"

"I was trying to tell you Orihime needs a tetanus shot. I'm out in here and I wanted you to go find another vial in my office but never mind. Hell, it would probably just be faster for me to go do it." Isshin walked over to his son and dropped his voice so Orihime couldn't hear. "Quit picturing her naked son." Ichigo slammed his fist into his face effectively throwing him out of the room. His fathers laughter came through the door and he once again clenched his teeth to stop himself from screaming at his embarrassing father.

"Ichigo-kun?" came Orihime's questioning voice.

"Don't worry about it, it's nothing." He walked over to where she sat on the table and checked her wounds. Satisfied his father had done a good job of bandaging her he took her hands into his. "Are you okay now Orihime?"

"I'm okay. Your father did a wonderful job. Even my arm barely hurts."

"I'm sorry it took me so long to get there."

Orihime didn't know if she'd ever get Ichigo to stop feeling responsible for everything. His eyes were filled with regret and a frown was on his face. "Stop that. You can't be with me every second of the day Ichigo-kun. Not everything is you fault you know? Besides, I did a pretty decent job of defending myself I think."

"Yes you did. I'm really glad you've been practicing with Hachi." he slid his hands along her arms, slipping past her shoulders and running them down her back. He smiled at the small shake he felt pass through her.

"M...m...me too. I'm gonna get better. I promise."

Ichigo lost himself in her shining eyes. "And I promise I'll protect you better...forever Orihime."

Her soft smile beckoned him and he closed the distance between them to kiss her lips. He only meant to kiss her gently; he was still worried about her injuries, but as he pulled away she followed him, capturing his lips again and he couldn't deny her. He moved his lips gently over hers. His fingers threaded into her hair and he cupped the back of her neck, tilting her head back.

Orihime could feel how gentle Ichigo was being with her and right now she didn't want that. He was still admonishing himself over the Arrancar attack and she wanted him to stop. She needed him to remind her she was still alive. His fingers were ghosting over her neck when she wanted him to brand her skin with his heat. She needed to feel his warm flesh next to hers to remind her she really was still here; that she made it away from the Arrancar and she wasn't going back to that barren wasteland.

She traced her tongue along his lips and bit his bottom lip gently. She heard his indrawn breath and took the opportunity to plunge her tongue into his mouth. Her hands, that had been on his shoulders, ran down his bare chest. His kosode lay on the table beside her, forgotten for the moment. His skin was so hot under her touch and it left her feeling dizzy. Her fingers danced over his heated flesh and she could feel his kisses becoming more urgent. She still wanted to be closer to him. She scooted forward on the table a bit, her knees parting absently to allow him closer. One of his hands was moving down her back, sliding over the silky top she wore. Orihime's hands brushed over his nipples and she felt the shock that went through his body. His tongue plunged into her mouth as his grip on her neck tightened. She moaned low in her throat and ran her fingers over them again.

All of Ichigo's thought's about being gentle with her flew out of his mind when Orihime began rubbing his nipples. Each touch sent a bolt of heat through him and he couldn't let her be in control any longer. He stepped closer to her, bringing their hips together, and feasted on her mouth. His hands dropped to her waist and began massaging the tender flesh there. He felt her hands travel up to his head and her tiny fingers clenched his hair. He groaned into her mouth and couldn't stop his hands from wandering.

They parted from each other only long enough to breath before medling their mouths together again. Ichigo's hands slid up her torso, the fabric of her shirt bunching under his hands. He hesitated only for a moment before cupping her large breast in his hand. He squeezed the luscious mound and felt her nipple harden under his touch. A low moan tore from her throat and her knees came up to grip his hips. Ichigo knew he was about to lose control yet he couldn't stop himself from kneading the tender flesh of her breast. He ground his hips into hers and he groaned aloud at the feel of her heat near his arousal. When he began contemplating ways to get her to his room without his father seeing them he knew he had to stop.

He pulled away from her mouth and rested his head on her shoulder. He took her hands into his and laced their fingers together. "Kami, Orihime." His voice sounded rough to his own ears. He felt her press her face into his neck and they simply held each other while they regained their breath. Ichigo forced himself to calm down. The last thing he ever wanted to happen was for his father to find him with a hard on. He could only imagine the embarrassing things the old goat would say to that.

"I'm sorry." he heard her whisper against his throat. He pulled back to look at her.

"For what?"

A blush came across her cheeks as she spoke and she lowered her head. "For being so...ummm...forward."

He laughed and freed one of his hands to tilt her chin back up. "Did you hear me complaining?" her blush only deepened. "Never apologize for anything that happens between us Orihime. I belong to you, the same as you belong to me." She smiled and he couldn't help but to kiss her again before he pulled her into an embrace. "However...you're injured and we are at my father's clinic. Perhaps this isn't the best time for this."

She giggled as they pulled away from each other. "Well, don't go walking around me half naked then."

Ichigo stared, open mouthed at her as he flushed at her words. He watched as she got off the table and grabbed the blanket off the counter to wrap herself in. She handed him back his kosode and kissed his cheek before he could get his wits about him again. Orihime never knew she had such a teasing side to her but hearing Ichigo tell her he belonged to her allowed her to lose some of the last insecurities she had. She felt so free...so happy.

As Ichigo put his kosode back on he shook his head at the woman who always seemed to surprise him. "I'm gonna get you back for that one 'Hime." Orihime laughed, glad to see his playful side as well. Just as he was fastening his kosode his father walked back in with Urahara at his side carrying a bag.

"Hello, hello, young ones." Urahara said from behind his fan.

"Urahara-san, what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked.

Urahara placed the bag he had been carrying on the table next to Orihime before he answered. "Hitsugaya-san came to the shop to alert the others as to what happened. Once I learned of the events I had to come offer my services to Inoue-san."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked, eyebrows narrowed skeptically.

"Oh come now Kurosaki-san! Surely you know I only have Inoue-san's best interest at heart?"

Ichigo said nothing, merely stared the shoopkeeper down.

Urahara sighed and closed his fan. "Inoue-san is going to be staying with me until the repairs on her apartment are complete. That is, if it's okay with her?"

"Oh, of course it's okay with me but Urahara-san...didn't you hear how the Arrancar was able to get into my apartment undetected?" she asked.

Urahara smiled at her. "Inoue-san, if the Arrancar wants to try and get past the safe-guards on my shop they are more than welcome to try. Forgive me, but I never thought they would be so bold as to attack you with two shinigami staying at your apartment. When the repairs are complete, Tessi will place certain kido guards around your home as well."

"Thank you Urahara-san. Thank you so much!"

Ichigo couldn't say anything to stop her from staying with Urahara. He knew that was probably the safest place for her besides at his home and he was thankful for the shopkeeper allowing her to stay there; but he was still irritated that she would be out of his sight. Great, he was sounding like a stalker again. He took several deep breaths to calm himself.

"Your very welcome Inoue-san. In the bag is a change of clothes Matsumoto-san got from your apartment. Once you change we'll head over to my home. Oh and you might want to call your friend from school."

Orihime tilted her puzzled head. "Who?"

"I'm not entirely sure but Matsumoto-san said when she was at your apartment a young woman came up demanding to know what had happened. She said she could sense you were here at Kurosaki-san's house and if Matsumoto-san didn't explain things to her she would, and I quote, 'bang on the bastards door until she got answers'. Does that help?" Urahara said with a wide smile as he had enjoyed relaying the girls message.

"Oh goodness, I've worried Tatsuki-chan again. Thank you Urahara-san. I'll call her as soon as we get to your shop." Orihime lowered herself off the table and began pulling clothes out of the bag he brought for her. Everyone left the room to give her privacy to change but the events of the night began to whirl around her head again. It was quite obvious now that the Arrancar were getting desperate in their attempts to get her; to the point that they didn't care who was with her or who she was around. If she wasn't careful the people she loved could get hurt again.

There was only one option left open for her and she wasn't looking forward to telling Tatsuki about it, her best friend was already mad enough.

* * *

"Orihime, are you **sure** you're alright?" her best friend asked over the phone for the fifth time.

"Tatsuki-chan, I've already told you I am! Please stop worrying, I held the Arrancar off until Ichigo-kun was able to get there. I know my apartment looks bad but I swear I'm fine. Plus, Soul Society is going to fix my apartment so I'll be able to go back home in a few days." Orihime explained.

"Alright, but you had better be telling me the truth! I think I should come to check on you just to be sure. Where are you?"

Orihime laid back on the futon Urahara had given her for the night and tried to prepare herself for her friend's wrath. She had thought about this the entire way over to Urahara's and could come up with no other plan. She hadn't told Ichigo yet but she didn't think he would mind as much as her friend was going to.

"Ummm...about that Tatsuki-chan, I don't think it's such a good idea if you come over."

Silence met her ears for a few moments until her friend's voice sounded over the phone; her anger was easily distingushied in her tone.

"Why?"

"Please listen to me Tatsuki-chan." she quickly said. "The Arrancar are targeting me and they are doing so now no matter who is with me. Don't you see? If you are around me you could get hurt!"

"What are you planning to do Orihime? Hide yourself away until these attacks are over! What about school!"

"Well, I was thinking of staying out for a while."

Her friend's temper exploded. "How long is a while! A week! A month! It's our last year Orihime! You can't afford to miss too much! On top of that you have no idea how long these attacks are going to continue! You can't miss graduating! There's got to be something else you can do!"

Even though she was angry Orihime could hear the worry in Tatsuki's voice. "I'm not going to miss that much Tatsuki-chan. Two weeks at the most. This time, three of them attacked at once and we've gotten there numbers down dramatically. I think there should only be six of them left."

"Six? But Orihime..."

"Please Tatsuki-chan," she interrupted, "Think about it. If I were to be attacked at school all of those people could get hurt and it would be my fault! I'm not to go with them to Hueco Mundo,"

"Damn straight you're not."

"**But, **I have to do something to try and protect the people I care about. If all I can do is stay away from everyone for a while then that's what I'll do." She didn't know how else to persuade her best friend. Her boss would certainly fire her for missing that much work but she didn't have any other choice. Innocent people would not be hurt because of her.

Tatsuki sighed heavily into the phone. "Okay. I get it. I don't like it, but I get it. At least tell me that Ichigo will be with you."

"I'm sure he will at least some of the time. The shinigami will still be with me, Ishida-kun and Sado-kun will be around as well. Just not..."

"Just not us who can't do a damn thing about those bastards, I know."

"Tatsuki-chan."

"I know what you meant Orihime. You know I didn't mean it how it came out, I'm just worried again. Damn it! Why does all this shit happen to you!"

Orhime could feel the tears fill up her eyes. Even though she worried Tatsuki so much, it felt so wonderful to have someone care about her so deeply. "I'll be okay Tatsuki-chan; and I promise that as soon as this is over you and I will have a whole weekend to ourselves!"

Her friend laughed into the phone and Orihime was glad she felt better. "Yeah, that's if I can pry you away from Ichigo long enough."

Even though no one else was in the room Orihime felt a blush come on her face. "Tatsuki-chan!" she heard her laugh harder. "Okay, well I guess I'll just have to wait for that weekend to grill you about your new kohai in the karate club."

"Wh..what do you mean?"

A grin came on Orihime's face as she heard Tatsuki's slight stutter. "Oh, I just heard from one of your team members that a certain new kohai and you were getting awfully friendly with one another."

"Inoue Orihime! You know better than to listen to gossip!"

Orihime giggled. "Yes, that's why I can't wait to see your face when I ask you!"

The two friends talked for a while longer before hanging up. Orihime felt better now that she had a semblance of a plan and her friend understood her reasoning. It had been nearly two months since the first Arrancar attack outside of her home. So much had happened in that time that it felt like it had been much longer.

Orhime stretched her limbs and arranged herself comfortably in the futon. Hopefully, after a good night's rest she would have most of her energy back and she could focus on healing herself and her powers. It might be pretty safe inside Urahara's home but she knew she had to stay on her guard.

In a few days she would be back inside her apartment, where she planned to stay for a couple of weeks. Even though she would be secluding herself away from her school friends she wouldn't be alone like she was in Hueco Mundo. She had her friends by her side and that, more than anything, gave her courage.

* * *

**AN: Kohai is a term used to describe someone with less experience. **

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I plan to update within the week. Please review and thank you!**


	16. Chapter 16

Orihime tried to concentrate on the homework she was working on but it was useless as the argument ongoing between Rukia and Renji right across the room from her invaded her mind and made thinking impossible. It had been two days since she announced her decision to stay away from school and work, and like she expected, she was going to have constant house guests. Toshiro and Rangiku were on patrol duty tonight so Rukia and Renji were staying with her. Not that she minded their company, but they had a tendency to get into arguments very quickly. She tried not to intervene unless it seemed necessary. They stayed in shinigami form so no one in her apartment complex could hear the arguing, and they normally worked it out quickly. 'Working it out' meant Rukia would fix Renji with a stern glare, crossing her arms over her chest, letting him know any further arguing would cause him pain.

Just as she thought, Ichigo was not upset by her decision to stay inside her home. He wasn't very happy about the fact that he would still have to leave her side most of the time, but he was glad he would always know where she was and she would continue to be protected by their shinigami friends. His father even went so far as to help her out with an excuse for school. He called her teacher for her and explained that she had an acute case of tonsillitis and would have to have them removed that day. It would give her at least two weeks of excused absences and the story was plausible. Good thing she had her tonsils removed when she was younger so if anybody asked to see she wouldn't have to make up an excuse. The teacher had sent make up work for her to do during the time she would be out so luckily she wouldn't be behind.

Tatsuki had called her a few times each day to check up on her. She still wasn't happy with the decision but Ichigo assured her he would see Orihime every night and he would make sure she stayed safe. The karate champion was only slightly mollified by his re-assurances but she knew there was nothing to be done about it. Ishida and Sado had came by the first afternoon to visit with her and find out more detail about the Arrancar attack she had been through. Ichigo had not gone into detail and the Quincy had not been satisfied by his answers. They were continuing to do patrols as well and from them she learned the number of hollow attacks had not decreased. Everyone was still on edge, not knowing if this was a continued trick on the Arrancars behalf or not.

Orihime had been glad to see her friends but she was unsure whether to tell them to come back or not. She knew that if they were around her they would be more likely to get attacked but she also tried to trust in their strength. They fought in Hueco Mundo along with the shinigami and Ichigo. Though they had sustained injuries they were able to return alive on their own power. She couldn't help but worry for them though.

Giving up on her homework, Orihime put all her school supplies away and headed for the kitchen to make dinner for everyone. Not having Rangiku around meant she would have to make normal meals for her guests. She mentally pouted before removing the ingredients for a basic stir-fry. Rukia was still a close friend of hers but the healer couldn't deny the fact that around mealtime she wished it was Rangiku staying with her. Though one thing in Rukia's favor was the fact that she wouldn't grill Orihime for details about her relationship with Ichigo. Rukia only asked if things were still going well, Rangiku on the other hand, would ask the most embarrassing questions!

Orihime was really glad Rangiku had not been there that morning when she woke up. She still got embarrassed when she recalled the dream she had the night before and she knew even before she had looked into her bathroom mirror that her face showed evidence of her heated thoughts. She had experienced dreams like that before but they had never been so _intense. _Perhaps they had escalated due to her new found intimacy with Ichigo. She was sure that was the case since now she no longer only imagined what it was like to kiss and touch him.

The dream had started off much like the reality of the fight with Venceslas. He had come in, like before, and killed Venceslas before he could attack her. Except in the dream he never hollowified. He simply killed him with his own power. When he came over to ask if she was okay the dream veered off into another direction entirely. She could feel the blush creeping up her neck as she remembered every detail. Everything had been so vivid. When she woke up she could practically feel the heat of his body still scorching her hands and smell the masculine scent that clung to his skin. The sound of his husky voice next to her ears as he covered her body with his still rang in her mind. She had rushed into her bathroom that morning and had been more than a little embarrassed to find her panties damp from just a dream.

The smell of her food cooking tore her away from her musings just in time to save it from burning. As she put out dinner she was glad to see Rukia had already set plates out for everyone. The conversation surrounding the meal was light and cheerful. Orihime smiled as she served Renji second and third helpings of the meal; laughing lightly each time at his humble face as asked so sweetly if he could have more. She was more than happy to cook as much as he could eat.

Later on, as she lay in bed, she said yet another prayer asking for everyone's safety and a quick end to the attacks. She closed her eyes, searching for Ichigo's reiatsu, and was happy to find he was at home. She concentrated on his reiatsu and fell into an easy sleep.

* * *

"Can you move any slower Kurosaki?"

Ichigo shifted the hold on his school bag before turning to look at Ishida. A week had passed already with no new attacks from the Arrancar and everyone was becoming irritated. Even though everyone rotated shifts on the nightly patrols, it was taking it's toll on their group. Lack of sleep, constant watching over their shoulders, and the absence of Orihime, who always had a way of making everyone smile, was pushing tempers to their breaking point. Ichigo knew Ishida had been on patrol the night before so he made an effort to reign in his violent temper.

"Can it Ishida. We told Urahara we'd meet up with him around 4pm. It's only 3:30 so we have plenty of time to get to his shop."

The Quincy narrowed his eyes at Ichigo. "That still doesn't mean I feel like lumbering along at your slow pace."

Ichigo's scowl deepened but before he could open his mouth to bite out a retort to Ishida, Sado interrupted them.

"How is Inoue?" the quite man asked.

Ichigo turned his back on Ishida and continued walking before he answered. "She's fine. Toshiro had to go back to Soul Society yesterday to handle some things and Rangiku-san went with him. Renji and Rukia have been staying with her this week."

"I will try to go see her after we are done at Urahara's. It has been a few days since I was over there last." Ishida said. All traces of his previous anger gone.

Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. "She understands so don't stress it. She knows everyone has stuff to do so it's not a big deal."

"That may be the case, however, I'm sure she is lonely and I don't want her to feel like a prisoner in her own home regardless if the decision to stay there was hers."

Ichigo was silent for a moment. "Thanks Ishida. I hate the fact that she's cooped up in her house all day but I couldn't argue with her reasoning for wanting to do this. She just wants to keep everyone safe and this is the best way for her to do it right now. The Arrancar are being such fucking cowards by going after her instead of just coming to fight me. I wish they would just hurry up and do whatever it is they're gonna do cause I'm tired of this shit. Orihime might still be here but she's away from her friends again! I'm not going to allow this to become another Hueco Mundo." Ichigo stopped and ran his hand over his face trying to calm down. Getting angry would do him no good right now.

"It won't be." Sado said from his side, placing a comforting hand on Ichigo's shoulder.

"Of course it won't . None of us will allow anything to happen to Inoue-san." Ishida saw Ichigo attempt to speak but he interrupted him. "Just remember, she's my friend and I care about her. I do this for her, not you Kurosaki."

"Tch. Whatever Ishida." Ichigo said without any heat behind his words.

"On that matter...since she's my friend and she has no one else to do it I will ask the question." Ichigo looked at him curiously. "Just how serious are you about Inoue-san?"

Ichigo was stunned by the question. Ever since his friends had found out he and Orihime were together, they had simply acted as if it was a normal thing. Neither Ishida or Sado had asked him about their relationship. While he didn't really want to answer the question, his business was his own and he hadn't even told Orihime yet, he felt that Ishida was right. They were Orihime's friends and they cared about her deeply. It was true that she didn't have any family to look out for her well being and the fact that Ishida was doing so in their place convinced him to answer the question despite his hesitancy to do so. He didn't turn to look at either of them as he answered.

"I love her."

Neither of his companions said anything to his declaration. Sado had known Ichigo longer than Ishida but both men knew him well enough to know he was entirely serious. They had never heard him put so much emotion into one statement.

"Good to know." Ishida said. No other words were spoken but they didn't need to be. Ishida had gotten his answer.

* * *

Shortly before dark the trio found themselves on their way back to their homes. The meeting with Urahara was not long. No new information had been discovered and they only had to discuss the new rotations for the patrol duties. Ichigo was planning on going home to eat with his family before heading over to Orihime's. Ishida was going to visit her anyway, so he would see his family before leaving.

The walk back was basically silent as none of the men were much for conversation. So when the scream of a hollow pierced the night it sounded un-naturally loud.

"The Arrancar may not feel like attacking but the hollows just keep coming don't they?" Ichigo muttered as he pressed his shinigami badge to his chest and hid his body nearby.

"Kurosaki, look up." Ishida told him.

Ichigo looked upward to see a rip beginning in the sky. He watched as a group of menos began tearing their way through an opening before stepping into the living world.

"Well shit." Ichigo said. He rushed towards the menos leaving Ishida and Sado to catch up. He pulled Zangetsu from his back as he descended on the group of menos. He sliced easily through ones mask before bringing his sword up to block a cero fired at him. As he leaped for the next menos a hollow managed to sneak up and land a hit to his left side, tearing a large gash in his flesh. He grit his teeth in pain but managed to destroy the offending hollow before jumping back.

To his surprise, he found a large group of hollows now amongst the menos. This assault was larger than any of the previous attacks. Ichigo raised his reiatsu and called out his bankai. He felt Zangetsu's power flow through him once more as it changed into Tensa Zangetsu. The small chain at the back rattled slightly as he gripped the hilt tighter before plunging into the mass of hollows headed for him. Using his speed, he whipped back and forth through the group, slicing at the masks of every hollow near him. A large spray of bright blue arrows drew his attention and he watched as every hollow was cleansed; their bodies dissolving, leaving only the larger menos to deal with.

"Your patience is as short as ever." Ishida said from below him.

"I can't help it if your slow." Ichigo smirked as his comment made the Quincy's eye twitch.

"Perhaps you could hurry this up then? There are still five large menos wandering around."

Both men turned their heads at the sound of one of the menos screaming. A large burst of reiatsu traveled up its body before splitting it in two. Sado stood before it, smoke still coming from his right hand where his armor had formed.

"Correction, four large menos." Ishida said with another twitch.

"Thank you Chado!" Ichigo called to his friend as his jumped closer to the menos. He fired his getsuga tensho at the group taking two of them down. As he prepared to fire another he noticed a much larger reiatsu coming from the mouth of the garganta the menos left behind. He watched as an Arrancar walked out of the black opening. Long black hair was pulled into a thick braid that trailed over his shoulder, his bone white mask only covered a portion of his left cheek. That, more than anything, made Ichigo tighten his hold on Zangetsu. He knew the more of the mask that was removed, the stronger the arrancar were.

"Kurosaki!" he heard Ishida scream but didn't catch the warning in time. A large cero caught him from the side, throwing him back several yards. He had forgotten about the menos for a moment as he studied the new Arrancar and he paid for his carelessness. He hissed in pain as he got to his feet; several new burn marks decorated his sword arm. He saw Chad and Ishida engage the two remaining menos so he returned his attention to the arrancar before him.

"I'm surprised." Ichigo said.

"At what shinigami?" the heavy voice of the arrancar asked.

Ichigo gripped his sword tighter as the feel of the arrancar's reiatsu washed over him. This one was strong. His reiatsu reminded him of the ex-Espada he fought in Heuco Mundo. "I'm surprised that you are facing me. Seems lately all you cowards do is attack women."

Ichigo did not miss the narrowing of the arrancars eyes. "Do not make the mistake of counting me among those 'cowards'. I do not randomly attack women; that is beneath me. I am not opposed, however, to sending a smaller army ahead of me to _warm_ up my opponent."

"Yeah, so I noticed."

The Arrancar took a few steps forward before drawing his sword from his side. "Kurosaki Ichigo, I am Ladislao and I will be the man to kill you and take over rule of Hueco Mundo."

"Not gonna happen." Ichigo replied.

The arrancar lunged for him and their swords met fiercely, reiatsu bursting forth from both parties. "We shall see." Ladislao replied, kicking Ichigo in the stomach hard, throwing him back before he parried again.

Ichigo brought up his sword to meet the hard swing of Ladislao. He had to admit this arrancar was more powerful than the others he had fought, but not only that, his fighting style was better as well. For every swing Ichigo dealt, Ladislao blocked it. Ichigo fired off a getsuga tensho but his opponent countered it with a cero he fired from his hand. He unleashed another getsuga tensho but followed it quickly, using the speed of his bankai, to come up behind the man and slice down his back. Ladislao moved at the last second avoiding a fatal injury but taking heavy damage from the end of Zangetsu.

"I should have known it wouldn't be enough without releasing my sword." Ladislao panted heavily. "As expected of the man who defeated Aizen-sama."

Ichigo watched as he drew himself upright. He swung his sword in a large arc beside him and Ichigo felt his reiatsu rise.

"Arrollamiento, Latigo!" As he spoke, a white light covered his sword and it began changing shape. Ichigo saw what seemed to be metal rope coiling at the base of his feet. Ladislao's mask grew larger and covered the back and top of his head. His braid was pulled through a small opening in the back but now it held a mass of blades in the end of it. He began swinging his arm back and forth slightly and Ichigo could see he now held a whip in his hand. Light reflected of its metal surface giving it a more deadly appearance.

"A whip? In a sword fight?" Ichigo said with a slight smirk to his face.

Ladislao returned the smirk and cracked the whip loudly in front of him. Ichigo was stunned to see a small but powerful cero fly out of the tip and he shunoped away to avoid it. Ladislao laughed loudly and continued to crack the whip wildly. Multiple ceros came flying at Ichigo and he avoided them all but only barely.

_"Bastard. Fine, let's see how he handles an up close battle now." _Ichigo thought as he dashed for Ladislao, bringing his sword up to strike his chest. He paused when he felt pain shoot through his arm and his movement was hindered. The arrancar had caught Ichigo around his sword arm with his whip. He was puzzled at the blood trickling down his arm but up close he could now see the dozens of tiny metal shards sticking out around the whips surface.

"Painful isn't it? It's meant to shred the flesh." Ladislao said before quickly jerking the whip back leaving long, uneven cuts through Ichigo's arm. He couldn't stop the cry of pain that came from his mouth. He saw the smile that came on the arrancars face and it only made his blood run hotter. He brought his hand to his face and allowed the reiatsu to gather there before pulling on his hollows mask. The darker reiatsu of his hollow flowed through him and he felt his hollows grin in the back of his mind.

"Bastard." Ichigo muttered as he once again rushed the arrancar.

Sado and Ishida watched from a nearby rooftop as Ichigo rushed at the arrancar again. The menos had been defeated so the men took to watching their friends battle.

"He's strong." Sado said.

"The Arrancar?" Ishida asked, noting his friend only nodded in affirmation. "Yes he is. I can't believe Kurosaki has had to pull out his mask. It looks so much different than before." The last of the sentence he uttered under his breath. Sado still heard him though.

Sado knew something horrible happened during the fight Ichigo had with Ulquiorra but he wouldn't talk about it. Neither would Ishida and Sado wouldn't ask Inoue about it again. Only once had he tried bringing the topic up. He still remembered the way her body had cringed before trying to curl on itself as if to protect her. Tears gathered in her eyes but she had fought them off. He immediately changed the subject and was relieved to see her perk back up.

No, he wouldn't ask her again, but at least he had some idea of how horrible it must have been. When he asked Ishida about it he had looked at him shocked for a moment before turning away. The Quincy had his back straight as he walked away. Sado thought he had been ignored but he heard the answer as Ishida left.

_"It's not my place to talk about it. I'm sorry."_

Sado didn't feel like they were keeping a secret from him. He knew it was something far worse than that. Whatever happened on top of Las Noches was tramatic enough it had affected all three of them.

Sado watched as Ichigo fired another getsuga tensho at the arrancar. It was heavier than normal, being drenched in his hollowified reiatsu. It caught the arrancar's arm but he had already cracked his whip at Ichigo, catching him around his shoulder and across his back. They were thrown away from each other and Sado cringed at Ichigo's cry of pain. His blood was dripping down his back but he stood firm.

The Arrancar wobbled on his feet but fought for his balance as he stared down Ichigo. He swung his whip over his head, releasing another cero at Ichigo but he shunpoed away, avoiding it. "You should have stayed in Hueco Mundo and left me and my friends alone." Ichigo said as he gathered his reiatsu around his blade.

Ladislao swung his arm back, preparing to slash his whip at Ichigo again, but the vizard swung his sword down first releasing the powerful getsuga tensho at the arrancar. Ladislao didn't even have time to scream as the powerful energy enveloped him. Ichigo watched as his body vaporized in the blast before he lowered himself to the ground beside his friends.

"Good job Ichigo" Sado said as he placed his hands on Ichigo's shoulders to help steady him, being careful to avoid his injuries.

"Thanks Chado. Are you guys okay?"

"Worry about yourself Kurosaki. You're the one bleeding, not us." Ishida replied as he slid his glasses back in place. He tried to conceal his worry for his friends injuries.

"Tch, this is nothing." Ichigo said. He began walking off but promptly collapsed from fatigue. Sado picked him up and turned to Ishida.

"Should we take him to his house or to Inoue?" the large man asked.

"As much as I hate to worry her she would be much more effective at healing his injuries. Plus, I don't believe Kurosaki-san would be too happy with us bringing his son home like this and scaring his daughters."

Sado nodded in understanding and began walking off towards Inoue's apartment. Ishida went to follow him but stopped as he remembered an important, but aggravating detail.

His shoulders slumped in defeat and he allowed a heavy sigh to pass his lips. "I'm going to have to carry his body aren't I?"


	17. Chapter 17

Ichigo's unconscious body being carried in Sado's arms was definitely not what Orihime was expecting when she opened her door.

"Oh my goodness! What happened? Bring him inside, quickly!" Orihime moved aside to allow Sado to do as she instructed. He placed Ichigo's shinigami form on her couch while Ishida placed his body on the floor. She wasted no time in calling out Shuno and Ayame to begin healing him. Rukia and Renji rushed in after hearing the commotion.

"Ichigo? Kami, what happened?" Rukia asked.

"Arrancar attack. This one was much stronger than the rest." Ishida answered.

"Obviously." Renji said. "Is he gonna be alright?"

Orihime was bent over her Soten Kisshun, studying his form as her powers worked to heal him. "He'll be okay but it's gonna take a little while to heal him. He's got so many injuries and he's exhausted as well."

"Of course he'll be okay baka!" Rukia said as she lightly punched Renji on the arm. "Orihime has never failed to heal anyone! You've gotta trust her power. Don't worry her." She added the last part in a whisper for him alone.

Renji did his best to look apologetic at the young healer. "Yeah I know. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it Renji-kun."

"Forgive me for dropping him off and leaving but I should go rest before I take over patrol tonight." Ishida said.

"You've got patrol duties tonight? Were you not in the fight with Ichigo-kun?" Orihime asked.

"I did fight some hollows and a menos but it doesn't matter. With Hitsugaya-san and Rangiku-san back in Soul Society we are down two people so I have to take the patrol tonight."

Rukia looked thoughtful for a moment before she spoke aloud. "Orihime, how long do you think it will take to heal Ichigo?"

"An hour or two at most. Why?"

"How about this? Once Ichigo is healed he can stay with you and Renji and I will take over patrol tonight. That way Ishida and Sado can take the night off."

Orihime began waving her hands in front of her frantically. "But...but...that's not really possible Rukia-chan! First of all I doubt his father would allow him to stay with me; it's not exactly appropriate. And what if Ichigo-kun doesn't want to stay? I know Ishida-kun and Sado-kun deserve the night off, it's just that..." Orihime's shoulders slumped and her voice depicted her sadness. "This is all my fault. You should just take patrol anyway. You shouldn't be staying here with me, wasting your time."

Rukia grabbed Orihime by the shoulders and shook her lightly. "Stop that right now! This is not a waste of time!" The raven haired shinigami yelled at her. "You are not a waste of time and don't let me ever hear you say that again!" Orihime stared back into her face, shock blanking her features. "Do you hear me?"

"Yes." Orihime replied meekly.

Rukia lowered her voice and her grip on the healers shoulders became gentle. "I'm serious Orihime. Please, don't talk like that anymore. It hurts me when you do."

Orihime smiled her thanks at Rukia and grabbed her in a fierce hug.

"And do you _really _think Ichigo wouldn't want to stay here with you...alone?" Rukia whispered into her ear. Orihime's reaction was immediate. Her face became red, her back stiffened, and she struggled to stammer out her response.

"R-r-rukia-chan!"

The shinigami simply laughed at the girls wide eyes and got to her feet. "Renji, stay here with Orihime for a little while. I'm going to talk to Ichigo's father." She didn't bother to wait for a reply and simply took off.

Ishida had watched the scene with only a slight widening of his eyes. He quickly composed himself before he spoke again. "Well, if that's all, I will take my leave."

"Go on and don't expect to do patrolling tonight. When Rukia wants something she gets it." Renji said. He took a seat near the table and began to flip through one of Orihime's magazines, hoping to avoid further conversation. Sado merely nodded his head to the pair as he followed Ishida outside.

Orihime turned her attention back to Ichigo and tried, in vain, to calm her racing heart. If Ichigo's father gave him permission to stay the night...kami, how was she going to survive! She didn't need Rukia bringing those thoughts to the forefront of her mind anyway. Her dreams were bad enough without the added temptation of having him in the same apartment with her...alone...for the entire night. _Stop that right now Orihime. You're acting bad again. _She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and listened to her internal berating. Ichigo was wounded and she needed to focus.

The hour passed slowly as Renji continued to look at the magazine he was holding, even though she knew he had long since finished reading it. He wasn't much for conversation when it was just the two of them she noticed a long time ago. She didn't even try to speak to him unless he asked her something. She always felt like she somehow made him nervous and she didn't want to do that. Ichigo remained unconscious but healing well under her powers direction. During this time, she wandered over to his body and checked it for any injuries. She was glad to have found none because she didn't know how she would have healed it as well.

When the knock sounded at the door she was surprised. Rukia wouldn't have knocked if she was expected back, right? She slowly made her way to the door, taking the time to feel out her unknown's guests reiatsu. What she found surprised her.

"Kurosaki-san?" She said in question as she opened the door to his smiling face.

"Ah, my future daughter-in-law! How are you?"

"Ummm...fine. Forgive me, but what are you doing here?" She stepped to aside to allow him in.

"Rukia-chan told me what happened so I decided to come see how the strawberry was doing." he said as he made his way to the couch. She watched him place a bag next to the table before he leaned over to inspect his son's shinigami form. "Can you take down your dome please Orihime?"

"Okay, he's healed now anyway. I was just trying to restore his reiatsu fully. That always takes longer for me." She called Shuno and Ayame back to her and before she could say anything else Isshin grabbed his sons foot and dragged him off the couch. Ichigos head made a resounding crack as it hit the floor. He sat up with a gasp of pain and she ran over to him.

"Ichigo-kun!"

"Oh don't worry about him Orihime-chan. He's fine; he just needed a little help to wake up." Isshin said with a grin.

"Bastard." Ichigo ground out. "This is how you would wake up your wounded son?"

"Quit complaining. You're healed anyway so you can't use that excuse." Isshin replied. He couldn't move away fast enough to avoid the punch Ichigo landed to his jaw.

"Stupid old man." Ichigo muttered as he sat up fully.

Orihime knelt in front of him examining his face closely. "Are you okay Ichigo-kun?"

His eyes softened as he regarded her. "Yeah, I'm fine Orihime. Thanks for healing me."

"You're welcome." she answered softly.

"Ichigo, Rukia came to the house and told me what happened. She also came to ask me if it was okay for you to stay with Orihime-chan tonight so she and Abarai could do patrols." his father said.

"Really? I've been out of it since the fight with the Arrancar so I didn't know anything about that." Ichigo said.

"I know." His father replied and sat beside him on the couch. "It's fine by the way. Actually, it works out for the best I think."

"Why?" Ichigo asked.

"Well, I have a medical conference I have to attend over the weekend and it's out of town. I was planning on leaving the girls here with you but with the way things have been around here I think it might be best if they went with me."

Ichigo raised his eyebrows to his father. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah. You've got enough going on right now without trying to watch after Karin and Yuzu." his father said in his rare, serious voice.

"That's true but...I don't want to put to much on you either."

Isshin lightly smacked the back of his son's head. "Don't question your father's abilities." Ichigo began to mumble something under his breath but Isshin interrupted him. "I've brought you clothes for the weekend in the bag so you wouldn't have to leave Orihime-chan unprotected. Rukia's at the house with the girls helping them pack. We're gonna head out in a few hours."

"Alright. Be careful dad." Ichigo fixed his eyes onto his fathers.

"You too." Isshin got off the couch and enveloped Orihime in a tight hug. "Take care of my stupid son Orihime-chan."

Orihime smiled at him as he pulled away. "Of course Kurosaki-san, please be careful and have fun on your trip!"

"Right, fun. Being locked in a conference room for a few hours a day with a bunch of stuck up physicians. The only fun I'll have is annoying the crap out of Ruyken."

"Ishida's father is going too?" Ichigo asked.

"Of course he is. I wouldn't let him back out even if he wanted to." Isshin said and waved his goodbye over his shoulder.

"I'm gonna go meet up with Rukia since you're up now Ichigo. Why don't you just rest and let the _real _shinigami handle this problem." Renji said with a smirk.

"What was that? Wanna come say it to my face?" Ichigo countered but Renji had already taken off through the window. Orihime's giggle drew his attention. "What?"

"Sorry Ichigo-kun. I just always think it's so funny the way you two like to mess with each other."

Ichigo grumbled as he made his way over to his body and lowered himself back inside. He groaned a bit as he got up. Apparently, he left his body in an odd position because his muscles were protesting being moved around so much.

"Umm...Ichigo-kun?"

"Huh?" His back popped as he straightened up.

"Are you okay with staying here this weekend?"

Her question was asked so shyly he looked over to see her fiddling with the ends of her skirt; a trait he noticed she did when she was nervous. "Of course it is. Why would you even ask?"

"Well," she began without meeting his eyes. "It's just that no one asked you if it was okay with you and I didn't know if you would be uncomfortable with it or maybe you had something else you wanted to do or maybe you wouldn't want to be couped up with me for so long and I didn't..."

"Orihime." he interrupted. Her rambling could go on forever with her in this state. He got to his feet and made his way over to her. Even standing directly in front of her she wouldn't meet his eyes. He sighed softly and tilted her chin up with his finger. He almost wanted to laugh at the shy expression on her face. Her tension eased when he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before wrapping his arms around her. "There's nothing I'd rather do then spend time with you."

"Are you sure?" her voice was muffled as her face was pressed against his chest, but he heard her anyway.

"Stop asking ridiculous questions 'Hime. Why wouldn't I want to spend time with the woman I love?"

Her head shot upright to look into his eyes. Unfortunately, she was still pressed closely to him so she hit his chin with the top of her head. The teens both groaned in pain and stumbled back.

"Man, I almost forgot how hard your head is." Ichigo said as he rubbed his chin.

"I'm so sorry Ichigo-kun." Orihime's eyes were still scrunched in pain. She rubbed her head and focused on his handsome face again. She knew she hadn't misheard him but she needed to see his eyes when he said it. She just had to know he wasn't kidding with her. "Did...did you mean it?"

A slow grin worked its way onto Ichigo's face. "What do you think?"

A warmth engulfed her heart and spread throughout her entire body as Orihime stared into his chocolate orbs. Happiness like she had never known tugged the corners of her mouth upward and she couldn't stop herself from jumping into his arms and holding on for dear life. Ichigo wrapped his arms around her and they held each other tightly. Orihime pulled back from him enough to place a long, sweet kiss to his lips.

"I love you. I love you so much." she whispered against his lips.

"I love you too Orihime."

The rumble from Ichigo's stomach broke the trance that had taken over the pair. "Sorry 'bout that. Guess it's been a while since I ate."

Orihime giggled. "It's okay. I'll go make dinner and don't worry, it'll be normal." She said with a good natured grin.

"Thanks. Do you need any help?" he asked as she disappeared into the kitchen.

"No, I've got it." she called back.

"Okay then, how about I find us a movie to watch?" he asked as he turned on her TV.

"Sounds good but no horror movies please!"

"Yeah, I think we have enough of that in real life."

* * *

Orihime sighed as she snuggled deeper into Ichigo's embrace. Never in her wildest dreams, and even she admitted her imagination was incredible, would she have believed this moment could ever happen. She and Ichigo were cuddled up on her couch watching an action movie he picked out. Still unsure about his comfort level with closeness, she originally sat on the end of the couch giving him his space. He allowed that for all of two minutes before grabbing her arm and pulling her close to his body. He settled back into the couch with his arm wrapped around her and his chin atop her head.

Everything in the outside world vanished as she breathed deep of his masculine scent. In his arms she forgot the dangers they were faced with. For the first time in a very, very long time she felt so...normal. Cuddled up on the couch with her boyfriend, watching a movie after a rather enjoyable dinner, this was how she wished her Friday nights could always go.

Ichigo felt Orihime sigh and glanced at her face. She was no longer watching the movie; instead her eyes were closed and a blissful smile sat on her face. He couldn't help but to smile himself as he ran his fingers lightly through her hair. Whatever deed he did to be able to have such a wonderful woman love him he was eternally grateful for. She balanced him. For every scowl he wore, her beautiful smile softened it. Every foul word he spoke she soothed with a sweet voice; and every time his temper threatened to break, all she had to do was lay a gentle hand on him. He pulled her closer and let his eyes close as her soft fragrance graced his nose.

Only with her would he allow himself to be this way. All his defenses were down as he held his beauty to his chest. If any of his friends could see him now he knew he would never be able to repair the damage to the reputation he built for being a hard-ass. None of it mattered anyway, because the only person that would ever see him like this would be Orihime. He smiled into her hair as the truth of that statement filtered into his mind. The only person who would **ever **be in his arms was Orihime. His yawn stopped his thoughts and caused said girl to giggle softly.

"Tired?" she asked.

"A little."

She pulled back to gaze into his sleepy eyes. "I'm getting tired myself."

He couldn't resist tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ears. "Well, it is getting late."

"Are you ready for bed then?"

Her innocent statement brought a tidal wave of thoughts that he fought fiercely to hold back. It also brought up another topic they hadn't discussed. "I'm gonna sleep on the couch right?"

She bit her bottom lip for a moment before her shy gaze caught his again. "Well, not unless you want to." Ichigo swallowed hard. "I mean, you don't have to but I thought maybe you'd like to...ummm... sleep in the bed...with me."

Ichigo ignored his hollow, which was now very much awake and adding his thoughts to the subject. "Of course, if you're sure you're okay with it."

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't comfortable with it." she replied.

Ichigo took a deep breath to calm his now racing heart as she stood and stretched. Her voluptuous form was breathtaking in the dim light of the room. Her shirt rode up as she lifted her arms above her head and he was given a tantalizing view of her toned stomach. He felt all the muscles in his body tense as he fought his own response to the sight.

"I'm gonna go change."

He could only nod at her in response. At that moment, he wouldn't have trusted himself to be able to speak. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts and reached for the bag his father brought. He rummaged through the clothes until he found his wife beater and plaid pajama pants. As he was pulling them out, a note fell into his lap. Curious, he opened it to find his father's familiar handwriting.

_Ichigo,_

_Aren't I just the greatest father in the world? Here I am, giving my teenage son permission to stay at his girlfriends for the weekend. I know, I know...you don't have to thank me. _

_Be careful and stay safe, please._

_From your amazing father!_

_P.S._

_Oh, and I was just kidding about the grandchildren. I'd like you to at least finish college first. So...condoms are in the small zipper part in front. _

Ichigo dropped the letter as if it burned him. There was no way...right? His father had to be joking. Looking up to be sure Orihime was still in the bathroom he peeked into the small compartment his father mentioned.

Nope, not joking.

He zipped the compartment shut and threw his bag onto the floor. When his father got back from the conference he was going to beat the shit out of him. What in the world was his old man thinking? Ichigo stomped into Orihime's bedroom and hastily changed clothes, grumbling about his old man the entire time. As he was pulling his shirt down Orihime came in and he promptly lost his train of thought. Her black pants were hanging low on her hips. The light pink, thin strapped tank top she wore clung to her figure. She held her hair clips in her hand and her silky auburn hair laid unbound down her back. His eyes fell to her chest for a moment before he caught himself. It was long enough for him to have the image of her nipples pressing against the constraints of her shirt burned into his brain.

His father's note flashed through his mind.

"Ichigo-kun, is everything okay?" she asked as she stepped farther into the room.

"Yeah, I'm good." he quickly answered and set about folding his clothes in order to have something occupying his hands and mind. She stepped around him and placed her precious hair clips on her bedside table before settling into bed. His hands briefly shook and he forced himself to calm down.

_Calm down. You're just going to sleep. That's all. She didn't invite you for any other reason. Just get in bed and go to sleep._

_**"Pussy."**_

Ignoring the desperate need to kill his own hollow, Ichigo folded back the covers and got in bed beside her. He laid there completely still, making sure every breath he took was slow and even. His heart beat was just slowing down as he felt the bed shift slightly. A small hand slid over his chest and the muscles there jumped in anticipation. Her weight pressed into his left side and he could feel her hair brushing against his shoulder. He gulped, gathered his nerves, and turned his head to face her...only to see the top of her head lying on his chest.

"Is this okay?" she whispered against his skin.

He let out the breath he didn't realize he had been holding. She only wanted to sleep cuddled up to him. Damn his perverted thoughts! He got so worked up when his innocent girlfriend only wanted to be closer to him while they slept. He wrapped his left arm around her back. "Yeah, it's perfect."

He cursed his thoughts again as he allowed his breathing to actually slow down this time. He felt his hollow continue to snicker at him but he ignored him. Her warmth was comforting and for the first time since he walked into the bedroom he felt as if he might actually get to sleep.

She slid her leg up over his and placed it between his knees as she got comfortable. Her hips pressed more firmly against his body and he heard her sigh.

"Goodnight Ichigo."

His eyes shot open.

Well hell, this was going to be a long weekend.

* * *

**-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-**

**A/N: **

**I apologize for the late update! Please don't be too mad! Between work and my other fic **_**The Pain of Remembrance **_**it took me longer to get this chapter where I wanted it. I will try my absolute best to get the next chapter out within a week.**

**Thank you to everyone who continues to follow this story's progress! Your reviews always make me smile and encourage me to continue writing! **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter as well and if it's not too much trouble... ;) ...I'd appreciate any thoughts you might have!**


	18. Chapter 18

Orihime

was slow to come out of her sleep. She was encased in a warmth so deep, she was reluctant to leave her dream land. Slowly, her eyes opened only to meet nothing but white. Her hands curled into the fabric she was gripping and the arm around her tightened in reflex. Ichigo's scent invaded her brain and Orihime's eyes closed in blissful surrender as she snuggled against him once again. She couldn't remember the last time she slept so soundly. Not a single nightmare disturbed her rest, nor did a pleasant dream. However, there was no need to dream because she was living out a fantasy of hers. Waking up in the arms of the man she loved.

She could have stayed in his arms forever but her bladder was demanding attention. Slowly, as not to disrupt his sleep, she eased herself away from him. Her leg was tangled with his and when she tried to remove it she brushed against something hard. Ichigo moaned in his sleep and shifted towards her. She held herself still, waiting to see if he would get up. When he didn't she continued extracting herself from him. The covers had fallen down to his thighs as she got up and now her attention was captivated by a certain 'condition' affecting Ichigo this morning.

Oh, it wasn't like she had no idea men sometimes woke up like that. She noticed her brother one morning in the same way when she was much younger. Of course, being the curious little girl she was, she asked him about it. Stammering and blushing the whole while Sora had given her a rushed half answer before running off. It was a few more years until through her reading of popular magazines that she discovered what 'morning wood' was. Even though the blush staining her cheeks was reaching new levels, she continued to stare at his obvious bulge. The small moan he uttered when she accidentally brushed against it rang through her mind sending a shiver throughout her body. Without warning the thought popped into her mind.

_I wanna see it._

That sobered her up with a start and she all but ran from her bedroom. She quickly jumped into the shower and blasted her body with the warm water. She scrubbed her face hard, washing all remnants of sleep from her mind. Steam filled the bathroom as she stayed huddled under the nozzle. Red still stained her face but she wasn't sure if it was from the shower or her mind's thoughts. Kami, it wasn't bad enough she stared at his chest when he wasn't looking but now she wanted to see his...his...thing!

_Oh come on Orihime. Your an adult...almost. It's simply a body part, all men have them. Don't be so childish. Just call it what it is. A penis. _

She covered her mouth with her hands to cover the squeak she emitted. True, it was just a body part but she was still embarrassed; especially at her actions. She felt her fingers beginning to prune and she reluctantly got out of the shower. She took her time getting dressed in a t-shirt and lounge pants as she collected her thoughts. She shouldn't feel so bad over her staring. It was natural, right? And besides, he was her boyfriend. It wasn't like she had never felt it before. Especially when some of their kisses had become rather heated. Like that one time at his father's clinic...

She shook her head to banish those thoughts. Great, the blush she finally got rid of was back. She took several deep breaths as she finished brushing her hair and her teeth. Ichigo would be waking up soon and she wanted to have breakfast ready for him. She opened the door to the bathroom and promptly ran right into her boyfriends naked chest.

"Sorry, you okay?" he asked as his hands held her steady. She was having trouble responding as his toned, chilsed chest was millimeters away from her face. If she so much as licked her lips she would be able to taste his skin.

"Y-y-yeah. I-I-I'm fine." She put some space between them and was finally able to meet his curious gaze.

He looked at her for a moment, studying her face as if he didn't believe her but he continued on regardless. "I was about to knock to see if you were okay. You've been in there for a while."

"Sorry about that I was just...having a hard time waking up."

"Okay then. I'm gonna jump in the shower myself." He bent down to retrieve the bag he had been carrying before he bumped into her. She stepped aside to allow him into the bathroom. Before she could walk too far away he grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. He bent to place a quick peck on her lips before smiling at her.

"Good morning Orihime." His deep voice ran over her body much like the water she just removed herself from. All she could offer was a small nod of her head. He chuckled as he went into the bathroom and gently shut the door. He hadn't missed the way her eyes glazed over. It was a good morning indeed.

* * *

Breakfast was a comfortable event, considering how much Orihime had worked herself up that morning. After doing the dishes together they settled on the couch to watch some TV. Now, Orihime was at a loss. When her shinigami friends were staying with her, their noise always filled the apartment. Rangiku was never at a loss for anything to say, so much so that she frequently annoyed her captain. Rukia was either speaking with her about the living world or she was bickering with Renji. Since it was her and Ichigo, she felt she needed to find something entertaining for them to do, but nothing was coming to mind!

She supposed they could do homework but this was the first time he didn't have to worry about patrolling and she didn't want him to have to spend it doing school work. They could watch a movie but they did that last night and she didn't want him to think she didn't want to talk to him. Why was this so hard?

"Orihime?"

She whipped her head around to face him. "Yes?"

"What's wrong?" He asked, eyes piercing into her.

"Wrong? Nothing's wrong." Her words came out to quickly and by the narrowing of his eyes he noticed.

"Orihime."

She sighed in defeat. He hadn't used that tone with her in a while and she knew she had no choice but to come clean or else he wouldn't quit asking. "Well, it's just that...I don't know what we should do and I didn't want you to get bored staying with me." she quietly confessed.

He rested his elbow on the back of the couch and leaned into his hand as he looked at her. "'Hime, you know I'm not a guest you have to entertain right?"

"But Ichigo-kun, I really don't have any idea what to do today and you're gonna think I'm boring and you're not gonna want to..."

"Stop right there." he interrupted. "I will never get bored with you so stop thinking that. Geez, for someone so fucking beautiful you've got some serious self-confidence problems you know that?"

She blushed at his compliment, however haphazard it might have been delivered. His kind brown eyes were gazing at her while he had a smile on his face. "Did you ever stop to think boring might be a good thing?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"With everything we go through day after day, I have no problems just enjoying the day with you. Whether we do anything or not."

"Really?"

"Yes really."

A large grin split her face and he felt the tension wash out of her. "Now get over here and hush woman, I like this show." She playfully smacked him on the arm before leaning into his side. His arm curled around her shoulders and she thanked the kami once again for having him by her side.

The couple stayed on the couch for hours. Sometimes watching TV, sometimes talking about random things in their lives. No matter what they did, they were both comfortable and happy. Just as Orihime was thinking what to make for lunch a loud knocking came to her front door. Rukia and Renji were on the other side carrying take out containers from a nearby restaurant.

"Rukia-chan! What are you guys doing here?" Orihime exclaimed as she helped her friend with her many bags.

"I just wanted to check up on you two and I figured you were hungry so I brought lunch." Rukia replied.

"That's so sweet of you but you really didn't have to do that."

"After you feeding us and putting up with Renji for days? It was the least I could do."

"I noticed you didn't say how much she was putting up with you." Renji said as he joined them at the table.

"That's because I am always a welcome prescence to have around."

"Yeah right." Ichigo muttered and received a death glare from the petite shinigami.

After lunch, the shinigami stayed and the friends enjoyed their time together. Rukia and Renji were happy to waste the day away before they took patrol once again. Since there were no attacks the night before, the two slept that morning and would once again take the shift for tonight.

This was the first time in a long while they all got to be together and they didn't spend the time talking about the Arrancar or hollow attacks. The friends simply hung out together. Watching movies, playing some card games, the girls watching Ichigo and Renji go after each other for wayward comments.

The day past in no time and Rukia helped Orihime make dinner that night. While the boys were out of hearing range Rukia turned to her friend.

"So, how was last night?"

"Umm...fine I guess. There weren't any attacks if that's what you mean." Orihime said, her confusion apparent on her face.

"No that's not what I meant!" Rukia raised her voice out of habit and turned around quickly to make sure they weren't overheard. The guys were still watching TV so she turned back to the healer before lowering her voice once again. "I mean how was your _alone_time with Ichigo?"

Orihime's eyes widened and a blush appeared on her face as she understood the meaning of Rukia's words. "Nothing like that happened." she whispered quickly.

Rukia raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? With the way things have been going between you two I thought it might have."

"Rukia-chan! I can't believe your even asking me this. Rangiku-san I expect it from but not you."

Rukia had the decency to blush and look away. "Sorry, I guess my curiosity got the better of me. I didn't mean to be so intrusive."

"It's okay. I was just surprised...and embarrassed." Orihime said. The girls continued chopping vegetables but now Orihime's mind was wandering. Her curiosity was eating at her and she couldn't help but ask her own question. "Rukia-chan, have you ever..." she shrugged, hoping her friend got the meaning of her question.

She did. Orihime noticed how her eyes flickered ever so briefly to the red head sitting on the couch before answering. "Of course not!" She ducked her head, taking her embarrassment out on the unwilling bell pepper at her mercy. Silence reigned once again. Rukia looked behind her to the living room where the guys were in a heated discussion about who's Zanpakuto was better. She sighed and resumed her dicing. Beside her, Orihime held her chuckle in and decided when it was just the girls again, they would definitely have to talk.

* * *

Ichigo ran his fingers up the silky skin of Orihime's arm as they sat watching some sappy movie she had somehow talked him into watching. He was only half paying attention anyway. He was much too distracted by the sweet smell coming off her skin. He bent his head and pressed a small kiss to her neck; before he pulled away, he inhaled deeply letting his nose fill with the fragrance she exuded. Vanilla and, cinnamon maybe? Whatever it was, it was driving him crazy. This wasn't good. He was getting too lost in the feel of her warm curves pressed against him. It had been difficult for him last night but he had some how been able to push his thoughts away and drift to sleep long after she had. If he was this consumed by her already he would never be able to sleep beside her without touching her. His hollow laughed at his plight and he forced his counterpart to the recesses of his mind.

Orihime was looking at the TV but she had absolutely no idea what the movie was even about anymore. Ichigo's fingers were distracting her thoughts. Every place on her arm his fingers traced caused her skin to tingle. She could feel the hard muscles of his body pressed against hers. When he kissed her neck she almost groaned. Suddenly it was too hot in the room. Her body burned, her muscles were jumpy, and she...needed something. Her fingers were itching to touch him so much that she had to curl them in her lap to refrain from doing so.

Maybe just a kiss.

That was okay right? They were together, it wasn't like they hadn't kissed before. They kissed many times so it was definitely okay. She glanced over at him and his gaze met hers steadily. She inched closer to him and he met her halfway. Their kiss was slow, loving, slightly hesitant at times. She loved the way he tasted like the hot chocolate he drank earlier. Her arms came up to encircle his neck and she fiddled with the hair at the base of his head. His hands caressed the expanse of her back as their tongues rubbed against one another.

Just a little more.

That wasn't selfish, right? The antsy feeling from earlier was stronger, but she felt so good. **He** felt so good. She pressed herself closer to him and began nibbling on his bottom lip. His hands moved to her hips and began kneading the flesh there. His kisses were more forceful now. She revealed in the way he dominated her. His tongue forced hers back into her mouth and he followed, stroking every corner of her mouth. She broke away when the need for air became desperate, tossing her head back as he lavished her throat with his kisses. She felt herself falling backward; not wanting to be apart from him she latched onto his shoulders bringing him down with her. A moan of pure pleasure left her mouth as his weight descended on her, pressing her into the couch.

The restlessness she had now turned into a heat running under every inch of her skin. She ran her fingers down his back as he continued to kiss his way down her throat. Her spine arched as he bit her collarbone, the pain only enhancing the pleasure she was experiencing. She pulled his head back up to meet his lips and they came together passionately. Ichigo braced himself with one hand beside her head so he wouldn't crush her, and used his other hand to push her shirt out of the way so he could run his fingers over her smooth stomach. He could feel her muscles quiver under his touch and it only heated his blood more. Her fingers were trailing up his biceps, nails scraping every so often, causing a shiver to run through him.

His fingers found the fullness of her chest, still bound by her bra. He ran his hand over the silky material before gently squeezing. Even through the fabric, he felt her hardened nipple and he pinched it lightly. The moan that came from her was the sexiest thing he ever heard and he proceeded to torture her hardened pebble further just to hear it again.

Orihime didn't care what she had to do to make him continue, just as long as he did. His attention to her breast was causing the most delicious feeling to build deep within her gut. The heat was almost unbearable now but she never wanted it to end. Her thighs parted so he could nestle closer to her heat. She didn't notice when he lifted her shirt above her chest but when his mouth latched over her clothed breast her legs wrapped around his hips as she bucked into him, trying to relieve the throbbing ache between her legs.

Ichigo rocked into her; each meeting of their hips putting delicious friction on his hardened member. Her hands ran over his shoulders as he continued his tortuous work on her breast. The layers of clothing were annoying him now. He needed to feel more of her skin. He wanted her to touch him, not his clothing. He paused for only a moment to lean up and rip his shirt over his head before returning to kiss her deeply. Now her hands ran up and down his back, scorching him wherever she touched. He reached between them, slipping his hand under the waist band of her pants. He fingered the strap of her underwear as he rocked into her again. Her head fell back as his name came from her parted lips.

"Ichigo."

He paused in his exploration. What was he doing? Kami, had he nearly made love to her on her couch? He stopped moving and tried to raise up but her hands held him firm behind his neck.

"Orihime, we should stop." His voice was thick with unfulfilled need.

"No." she whispered.

He groaned and closed his eyes, willing himself to have the strength to move away from her. "'Hime, if we don't stop now...I don't think I'll be able to."

She gazed up at him with eyes full of passion. Her pink tongue traced her lips slowly and he felt himself harden further. "I don't want you to stop Ichigo."

His breathing became labored as the full weight of that statement hit him. He sat there, her legs still around him, hips pressed intimately together, staring at the woman he loved debating with himself. Would it be too soon? Would she regret it later?

Orihime gathered her courage and raised herself up to press her lips next to his ear. "Please Ichigo, I love you so much. I want to belong to you in every way possible."

"Are you sure?" his ragged breath whispered to her.

She pulled back to look into his eyes. "Yes."

He wrapped his arms around her and stood from the couch, her legs still around his waist. He stalked into her bedroom and deposited them both gently into her bed. "I'm not making love to you for the first time on your couch."

She giggled. "Maybe the second time?"

He buried his head into the crook of her neck and growled at her. "Kami, you're gonna be the death of me woman."

"Not yet I hope." She said and turned to kiss him again. Their passion having lost nothing in the move. Orihime pulled her shirt completely off before making Ichigo raise up slightly so she could take her bra off. He watched as the garment fell away, leaving her chest bared to him. He reached forward, ever so slowly, to cup one of her generous mounds in his hands.

"Perfect, absolutely perfect." She heard him whisper before he took one rosy nipple between his lips. Pleasure shot down her spine before settling between her legs. She writhed on the bed as he licked and nibbled his way between her breasts. Her head fell back as incomprehensible sounds came from her mouth, but he wasn't done. Ichigo made his way down her body, trailing a path of kisses in his wake. His large, calloused hands slipped into her pants and he pulled them off slowly. Revealing her toned, sun kissed legs inch by beautiful inch.

It was too tempting to resist so he gave into the urge and ran his tongue up the creamy expanse of her thigh. His eyes nearly rolled back in his head as he got closer to her heat. Her musky scent was so strong it permeated the light pink panties she wore and he felt himself throb. As his fingers slipped under the straps of the last barrier she wore, her hips raised to help him with his task. His eyes met hers and he didn't look away as he stripped her bare. She lay back on the bed, hair wild around her, eyes half lidded, lips parted as her chest rose and fell with each breath...he had never seen something so beautiful in his life. He told her so, right before he kissed her again as his hand slipped between her parted thighs.

Orihime arched her spine off the bed as his fingers stroked her swollen nub. She would ask him later...much, much, later, how he was so good at this because she knew he was just as much a virgin as she was. It didn't seem like it, as he lightly pinched her sending shock waves through her body. His fingers slipped lower and he eased one long finger into her. He stroked her slowly at first, watching her carefully for any signs of discomfort. When she showed none, he eased another finger in and increased his rhythm. She was undulating on the bed, nails digging into his bicep as she rode his hand.

"Kami you are so fucking beautiful." he ground out, desperately holding onto his control. He wanted to do nothing more than plunge into her wet heat, but he held himself back, determined to pleasure her first. He knew he would hurt her in a little while; it was unavoidable, so he would make sure she came apart before that happened.

Orihime was close, so close to reaching that point. She desperately needed to reach it. Her hips moved on instinct, rocking back and forth against Ichigo's hand.

"Ichi-go...pl-ease...I need..."

He pressed his thumb against her nub and she tumbled over the precipice. Lights danced behind her eyes as her muscles shook with the intense force of her climax. Her mouth opened on a silent scream and she clutched Ichigo's arm so hard her nails left half moon impressions in his flesh.

Ichigo held her as she came apart in his arms. He nearly came himself watching her body shake in pleasure. As her tremors stopped, her eyes fluttered open and his breath caught at the heated look she still wore. She reached up and placed a long kiss on his lips. He got up from the bed to grab his bag by the door. A wry smile appeared on his face as he withdrew one of the condoms his father left for him. When he turned around he found Orihime lying on her side facing him. Her look was both innocent and seductive, something he was sure only she could do. He held her eyes yet again as he removed his pants and boxers. Her eyes left his to slowly scan his body. He caught the slight widening of her eyes when they landed on his erect member. He wanted to ease her fears but his words sputtered and died as she licked her bottom lip and looked up to him.

"Can I?" she asked as she reached for the condom he held. He nodded mutely and she plucked it from his grasp.

Orihime opened the package carefully. She had only opened one before and that was at Rangiku's insistence. That time she was so embarrassed and flustered she tore the package open and the condom went flying onto her table. She didn't want to embarrass herself like that right now so she was careful in her handling of it. She tossed the now empty package on the floor and stared in wonder at Ichigo's hard length. She reached out and ran her fingers over it before grasping him lightly in her hand. His breath hissed through his teeth and she she looked up, afraid she hurt him. The look in his eyes made her shiver and clench her hand tighter around him. His hips bucked involuntarily and a groan tore from his throat. She stroked him slowly, watching his eyes darken further as his hand wound into her hair.

It was amazing to her how soft his skin could feel and yet be so hard at the same time. A bead of moisture appeared at the tip and, unbidden, she leaned forward to catch it with the tip of her tongue.

"Shit." he hissed and put his hand over hers to halt her movement. "Not yet." he whispered through labored breaths. He gently removed her hand and guided her back up the bed. Their mouths met once again as he settled himself between her legs. He rubbed himself down her fold before lining up with her. "Wrap your arms around me." he muttered. She did as he instructed just before he plunged into her heat. The pain was sharp, but fleeting. It dulled into nothing more than an ache in just a moment.

Ichigo buried his head against her shoulder as the immense pleasure of being surrounded by her tight walls washed over him. He fought his animalistic urge to drive into her again and again and held himself still so she could adjust to the intrusion. Soon, her muscles relaxed and he withdrew slightly before pushing forward gently. She made no protest so he continued slowly. His need was growing too great and his thrusts became faster. He withdrew almost fully before plunging back into her and she moaned loudly before gripping his shoulders.

"Do that again." she whispered breathlessly.

He grinned and did as she asked. They clung to each other as their bodies moved in sync. Lips met furiously as the sound of their lovemaking filled the air. Ichigo braced himself on his elbows above her to watch her face contort in pleasure once again. His hips slammed into hers over and over again. Orihime's hands and legs were wrapped around his body as she held on while he rode her hard. Her walls suddenly clenched around him as her second climax ripped through her. He gave into his own climax and held her tight as his body shuddered in blissful release. He collapsed on top of her, barely having enough sense of mind to roll to his side slightly so as not to crush her.

Their breathing evened out as they held each other in the afterglow. Orihime's head lay on his chest and the beating of his heart was lulling her tired body to sleep.

"Anyone shows up here before noon and I'm pulling out Zangetsu." Ichigo's tired voice sounded above her.

She laughed lightly and continued to stroke his stomach. "As long as I don't have to get up."

"Hmm...I don't think either of us will." Ichigo adjust the covers over them and yawned as fatigue set in. He held her close and kissed the top of her head before closing his eyes.

"I love you Ichigo."

Happiness like he had not felt in years seeped into his very bones.

"I love you too Orihime."


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Sorry about the late update everyone. I've unfortunately been recovering from the flu. Finally I have this chapter ready for your enjoyment. **

**Warning: I think we need a bit more citrus before the Arrancar show up, don't you? **

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Ichigo ran his fingers through her soft auburn hair and basked in the warmth her body laying next to his brought. Her breath brushed against his chest as she exhaled and the sheet covering them both slipped further down. His eyes roamed over the alabaster flesh exposed; the soft curve of her shoulder, the gentle slope of her waist as it widened into her hips that remained covered. Ichigo smiled and pulled her form closer to his, if that was possible. Orihime mumbled something in her sleep and snuggled against his chest. Peace that Ichigo had not felt since the time his mother was still alive settled into his very soul. The battles he knew that were still to come were the furthest thing from his mind as he held the woman he loved near his heart.

Ichigo heard her breathing break into a small yawn and she moved against him as she woke up. Her eyelashes fluttered before they parted showing her stormy gaze.

"Morning 'Hime."

A shy smile appeared on her face. "Good morning Ichigo."

He brushed her bangs back from her face and bent to place a tender kiss on her lips. Orihime wrapped her arms tighter around his torso as they parted and cuddled up to him again. They laid together in silence for a while longer; content to simply hold each other. Unfortunately, it was Sunday and Ichigo knew his father would be coming back today. As much as he wanted to stay in bed, her naked body pressed against his, it wouldn't do for his father to walk in on _that_ scene.

"As much as I don't want to, we need to get up." he finally admitted against the top of her head.

She giggled in response and pulled away from him. Her eyes shown bright with the happiness she felt. "I know. Plus, I definitely need a shower." She sat up and the sheets fell around her waist. She scooted to the side of the bed, seemingly unconscious of her nudity. Ichigo was far from oblivious to it. Her bountiful breasts were on display and he couldn't help his body's reaction. Every time she scooted forward her breasts bounced gently with her body's motion. His fists curled into the sheets as the blood flooded into his lower body. Her lithe form rose from the bed and he gulped as her toned thighs and ass came into view. He didn't even realize he was leaning towards her until she abruptly sat back down on the bed, her face wincing in pain.

"What's wrong?" he asked quickly, disturbed by her grimace.

Her cheeks lit up with a blush as she turned her head to face him. "It's nothing." her soft voice replied. He fixed her with a stern look, knowing she couldn't refuse the unspoken request. She ducked her head, allowing her long hair to hide her face as she answered his questioning gaze. "I'm just a little sore."

_I'm such an idiot, _he admonished himself. He should have known she would be sore after last night. Guilt plagued him, but only for a moment. It had been an unavoidable event but he couldn't stop the rush of pride he felt knowing she belonged to him in every way.

Orihime looked over her shoulder again as she felt the bed shift from the lack of weight. Ichigo rose from his side of the bed and began walking around it in her direction. She was going to question him as to what he was doing but her mind promptly shut down, unable to process any function other than sight. He strode toward her, unabashed in his nudity, looking very much like the marbled statues she saw in the museum once. His body was carved in sharp lines, muscles flexing as he moved. Orihime was suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to explore every inch she could see, and thanks to his need to get to her she could see so very much. Her eyes drifted down past the jutting muscles of his chest, down the flat plane of his muscular abdomen. She followed the faint line of hair that trailed into in area that, despite the fact she could feel her face burning, she couldn't look away from.

Her body tingled and she felt a familiar warmth pooling low in her belly. Just remembering how it felt to have him inside her was making her heated. Last night had been amazing, but she found herself wanting more. She shifted on the bed and had to stop herself from groaning in pain. Though it wasn't horrible, she couldn't deny the soreness that existed between her legs. Unfortunately, she doubted they would be able to have a repeat performance today.

Having been lost in her thoughts, she squeaked when she found herself picked up bridal style in Ichigo's arms.

"What are you doing Ichigo-kun?"

"Taking you to the bathroom."

She blushed and unconsciously covered her breasts as he took her towards the bathroom.

He was gentle as he slowly sat her on her feet in front of the shower. A shock went through her as her nipples brushed against the hard planes of his chest. She knew he felt it too; she could feel him harden against her belly. An idea entered her mind and she nearly dismissed it immediately. She would never be able to ask that! However, she changed her mind as she looked into his eyes. They were burning with desire as he returned her gaze. Just like last night, she gathered her courage before she spoke.

"Do..." she swallowed heavily. "do you want to join me?" She didn't look away as her cheeks burned in embarrassment so she caught the slight widening of his eyes before they lowered once again and his half smile appeared on his face.

"Yeah." His voice drawled out in such a low, sexy tone she nearly whimpered. She turned around quickly to start the shower but to also hide the embarrassment she couldn't help but to feel. Regardless of their activities last night she was still standing naked in front of Ichigo. Her desire to touch him outweighed her desire to cover herself so she gingerly stepped into the warm spray of water. He joined her and slid his arms around her waist, pulling her to his chest.

"Hime, I have to ask..." he trailed off.

"What is it?"

"Do you regret last night?"

She turned in his arms so she could look directly in his eyes as she spoke. "Of course not. Ichigo-kun, I should be thanking you for last night."

His mouth dropped slightly in shock. "Wh...what?"

She laughed slightly at his response and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Last night was...amazing. I love you; I've loved you for so long. I could never regret anything I do with you." she leaned up and kissed him slowly.

Ichigo rested his forehead against hers. "I don't deserve you." his breath came out in a hoarse whisper.

"Ichi..." Whatever response she tried to make was cut off as he kissed her again, deeply. Their mouths melded together under the warm water showering them. Orihime felt his hardness press into her as they leaned against each other. Ichigo broke the kiss and pulled away from her slightly.

"We've gotta stop. You're still sore from last night."

He was right; she was sore and knew that if they made love again she'd hurt too badly, but she could still help him. The idea sprang into her mind the moment she first saw his hardened length and though she felt guilty for thinking it she couldn't get the thought to go away. It ran through her mind now, the idea screaming at her until she could no longer ignore it. She reached up and kissed him again, ignoring his small show of surprise.

"Hime..." he tried to say but she kissed him again.

"Let me." she whispered against his lips before deepening the kiss. She heard him moan low in his throat before he wrapped his arms around her, stroking her back. Orihime fought her own body's response to his touch. His hands skimming her flesh nearly made her forget the soreness she still experienced but she mentally steeled herself and began her own pleasurable assault on his body, returning his favor from last night. She pulled away from his lips and began placing light kisses along his jaw while her hands stroked down his chest. Her mouth latched onto his pulse point, nipping the area while she began exploring the vast contours of his stomach.

"Orihime...Kami, I..." Ichigo's words fell away into a moan as she ran her tongue across his nipple.

She didn't care how bold she was acting, all that mattered at that moment was the taste of Ichigo's skin permeating her mind. The water cascading down his body made his skin slick and her lips ran across his flesh. She was slow in her perusal. Taking the time to trace each of his muscles on his stomach, gently squeezing his taut thighs, she lightly bit the side of his hip and his breath hitched. When her hands found purchase with his length, she heard the breath hiss through his teeth. Slowly, gently at first, she stroked him. Learning the feel of him. Only briefly last night was she able to feel the strength he possessed; now she watched her own hand run down the length of him, his skin sliding under her soft hand, the tip of it darkening in color. Once again, a small bead of moisture appeared and she leaned forward on her knees to take him into her mouth.

Ichigo threw his head back violently, narrowly missing the shower wall, as she took him into her warm, wet mouth. He couldn't stop the hoarse cry that escaped his lips as he felt her tongue move over him.

"Hime...you...you don't...uh...have to...ahhh shit!"

Pleasure shot through his body. His breathing was labored and it took everything he had not to thrust into her exquisite mouth. Her hand wrapped around the base of his shaft, pumping him as her mouth took in the rest of him. Her free hand was gripping his hip and he latched onto her arm, desperate for some type of contact with the woman. Loud grunts filled the air as she worked on him. Kami, it felt so fucking good. Her tongue swirled around his head before pressing into the small slit at the tip and his nails dug into her arm as he groaned in pleasure.

The pain of his nails didn't register with Orihime. She could feel his muscles tighten under her hand as his loud moans filled the bathroom. True, she was on her knees before him but she had never felt so powerful. _She _was the one making him feel like this. She nearly paused in her ministrations as she looked up at him. His head was tiled to his chest, eyes shut and mouth parted slightly as his breath came in short pants. Ichigo's face contorting in pleasure was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She tightened her lips around him and increased her pace.

_**"Fuck, fuck, fuck..."**_

For once Ichigo wanted to echo the words of his deranged counterpart. No longer could he hold himself back and his hips moved against her mouth. He felt the familiar tightening in his groin and tried to convey his message to her.

"Ori-hime...I'm...gonna..." he panted out. He watched her lift her eyes to him but she didn't draw back. Her grip on his shaft tightened as she gave a particularly strong suck and he shattered. He came violently, yelling her name into steamy bathroom as he emptied himself into her mouth.

Orihime stroked him slowly until he stopped shaking. She ran her tongue around him once more before pulling away. His essence was tangy and warm. Not knowing what else to do, she swallowed it before discreetly wiping her mouth of any excess. Ichigo gripped her shoulders and pulled her into his chest. He held her under the showers spray until he caught his breath.

"Kami, I can't even think straight." he said with his face still buried in the side of her neck.

"That's a good thing right?"

He laughed and pulled back to kiss her. "Yeah, that's a real good thing." She laughed softly and looked into his shining chocolate eyes. "You didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to." she answered shyly back.

He kissed her again, running his tongue over her velvety lips before whispering words of praise against them.

The water ran cold before the couple left the shower.

* * *

A knocking at the door brought Orihime out of her nap.

After they left the bathroom, she and Ichigo barely managed to throw on some clothes before falling into the couch, both exhausted and thoroughly sated. They relaxed on the couch, watching various shows before ordering lunch then falling right back to sleep. Isshin would be returning today and Ichigo knew he could no longer stay with Orihime. He would have to go back home with his family and he was reluctant to do so. This weekend had been the most peaceful, happy time he had in years. It was so easy to fall asleep holding her in his arms now.

Orihime never wanted their time together to end. It was like something out of her dreams. Waking up beside him, eating meals together, sharing their thoughts with each other; she felt the need to pinch herself to make sure it was real. She blinked, bringing his peaceful face into focus. Another knock at the door reminded her why she woke up in the first place. Pulling herself from his embrace without waking him, she made her way over to the door.

"Hello Orihime-chan! Where's my favorite son at?" Isshin said as she opened the door to him.

"Oh, hello Kurosaki-san come in. Ichigo-kun's on the couch." He followed her inside, discarding his shoes at the door. "How was your conference?"

"Better than I expected it to be. How was the weekend? Ichigo didn't annoy you too much did he?"

She turned her face away so he wouldn't see the blush that appeared at his question. It had been the best weekend of her life but she couldn't tell him that. "Of course he didn't Kurosaki-san! It's been a...peaceful weekend."

Isshin didn't ask why she was turned away from him but he did raise his eyebrows in confusion when he saw the sleeping form of his son sprawled on the young woman's couch. "He's asleep?"

"Yes sir. Sorry, but we were kinda taking a nap when you came." she admitted sheepishly.

Isshin didn't reply but chuckled quietly to himself. He hadn't seen Ichigo take a nap in so very long, of course that didn't count any time he was worn out from fighting hollows and the like. Just what had gone on while he was away? As much as he'd like to ask he didn't want to embarrass the sweet girl. He'd save that for when he got Ichigo home. His son was fair game.

He walked over to the sofa and sat on his son's stomach, hard. Ichigo rose up quickly, pushing the weight off himself while trying to catch his breath. Isshin tumbled to the other end of the sofa and looked to his son with his saddened face.

"What a way to treat your loving father! I only wanted to wake you so I could reunite with my darling boy!"

"Shut up you old goat! Why can't you wake me up like normal people?" Ichigo sat up, placing more room between himself and his father. "Where are Karin and Yuzu?"

"At the house unpacking. Jinta's already there. I swear the boy must've been a couple of blocks away just scouting for our reiatsu."

"And you left him there with Yuzu?" Ichigo asked loudly.

"Oh, calm down. Karin's there too. It's not like they're alone."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at his father but turned around and sighed in defeat. He was right; Ichigo didn't like it but the old man was right. Why the hell did Yuzu have to like the red haired punk anyway?

"Were there any attacks while we were gone?"

"No. Surprisingly it was a quiet weekend."

"Well, what are you going to do Orihime-chan? Are you gonna keep staying out of school?" he asked the healer.

"Ichigo-kun and I talked it over earlier and...well...I guess he's right."

"Huh?"

"Like I told her, while she's been out there was only one attack and they didn't even come after her. It was focused on me. I'm thinking that since the Arrancar obviously know we're aware of their plans they're gonna give up on trying to kidnapp Orihime and simply attack us. If that's the case than there's no need for her to keep missing class. The shinigami will still be patrolling so I don't think it's too dangerous for her come back to school."

Isshin sat quietly in thought for a moment over his son's words. "Good thinking Ichigo." he finally said. "Though I can't believe you actually used your brain for once." he mumbled. A sharp pain in the top of his head was his angered son's response.

"Helllooo?"

Everyone turned towards the door as the friendly greeting rang out. "Rangiku-san? What are you doing here?" Orihime asked.

"I felt Isshin-san's reiatsu and knew he'd be coming to pick up Ichigo so I rushed over to spend time with you!" Rangiku grabbed Orihime in a big hug. "And I'm sure we've got a lot to talk about." she whispered into the younger woman's ear. Orihime tried, unsuccessfully, to hide the blush that rose to her cheeks.

"Alrighty then, since she's here we can get back home to the girls. Come on Ichigo." The Kurosaki men rose from the couch and made their way to the door. Ichigo grabbed his bag and followed his father.

Isshin looked over his shoulder to see his son smiling at Orihime. He couldn't be more happy for his eldest child. Orihime was a wonderful, sweet woman who genuinely made Ichigo happy. There was nothing more he wanted for Ichigo than that. He couldn't just leave him in peace though; it would go against his character. "Come on boy, don't just stand there gawking let's go! I don't know how you managed to land a beautiful woman like Orihim...Ah!"

Ichigo could no longer stand his father's incessant chatter so he pushed him out of the door causing him to tumble down the stairs. He turned back to Orihime. "I'll see you later." he spoke softly, his words for her ears only.

"Yeah. Be careful okay?"

He smiled and regardless of Rangiku's presence, kissed her soft lips. "Love you." he whispered against them.

"I love you." She smiled softly and stood at the opened door, watching him walk away with his father. She leaned against the door when she closed it, her happiness shining on her face. Nothing, absolutely nothing, could ruin the wonderful mood she was in.

"Aaaahhhhhh!"

Orihime looked around for Rangiku, worried now at her abrupt scream. The busty shinigami was no longer in her living. The older woman shot out of Orihime's bedroom, excitement and, perhaps, a mischievous grin on her face.

"Wanna explain why I found this on your bedroom floor?" she asked with a wink. Dangling from her fingers was the discarded condom wrapper from the previous night.

This would be the perfect time for the little blue men to come take her away.

* * *

Yuzu and Karin's chatter filled the air as the Kurosaki family ate dinner together. While their father attended the conference the twins entertained themselves; visiting the local mall, video arcades, and meeting some locals who invited Karin to play soccer with them. The girls obviously had a good time and Ichigo couldn't get a word in edgewise. He was happy to see they enjoyed themselves, Karin especially. Yuzu couldn't see the Arrancar and hollows that were plaguing Karakura but Karin was all too aware of what was going on. Though she tried to hide it, Ichigo was able to see her worry filled eyes gazing out the windows of their home sometimes. He was glad to see her smiling again. Maybe a weekend away from everything was what they had all needed.

He thought back over his own worry free weekend. He already missed Orihime's presence. Her laughter that filled the air, her bright smile that warmed him, her comforting presence...

_**"You're turning into a pansy king."**_

_"Shut up."_

_**"Whatever, it's fine by me. I'll be able to take over at this rate."**_

_"Just try it bastard."_

Ichigo felt stronger than ever. He would feel his hollow sometimes stirring around his soul and he would simply sit back and watch. No matter how hard his counterpart pushed the constraints of his mind, he couldn't get through. Love didn't make him weak, it had given him the confidence and determination to keep Orihime safe no matter what, that included from himself. He wouldn't allow his hollow to break free any longer, his soul wouldn't waver.

"Onii-chan?" Yuzu's voice brought him out of his thoughts,

"Huh?"

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Sorry about that, I was just thinking."

A pout lined her lips briefly before she smiled once again. "I was asking how Orihime-nee was doing? Did you two have a nice weekend?"

Ichigo saw his father grin briefly before turning his head away from his daughters. The old pervert. He'd be damned if he talked to him at all! "She's fine and yeah, we had a good weekend."

_**"That's one way of putting it. Why don't you tell them about last night?"**_

_"Go back to sleep or something."_

_**"Better yet, tell them about this morning. Hot damn that woman's got a mouth on her!"**_

_"I swear to the kami I'm gonna cut your tongue out!"_

_**"As long as you leave hers alone."  
**_

_"SHUT UP!"_

"You okay Ichi-nii?" Karin asked with a frown.

Great, he got so mad at his hollow his reiatsu spiked. He caught the questioning gaze of his father but shook his head indicating he was okay. "I'm fine Karin. Just a bit tired. Yuzu, dinner was great. Thanks." Ichigo took his plate to the sink and left for his bedroom. It wasn't just an excuse, he really was tired. He ignored Kon's usual ramblings when he went into his room and got ready for bed.

His peaceful weekend was over. Tomorrow he would go back to school in the morning and begin patrolling again tomorrow night. Five arrancar were left to be dealt with. He just wanted all this to be over; sure, there would still be hollows to be dealt with but these arrancar were creations of Aizen and he wanted everything associated with that bastard to be gone.

He rolled over in the bed trying to get comfortable, not that it helped. Something was missing, or rather someone. To quickly had he gotten used to having Orihime in his arms as he slept.

* * *

**A/N: Well that's it for our relaxing weekend. I really hope I didn't put Ichigo or Orihime out of character too badly. I know this chapter is a little shorter than normal but i wanted to separate the last of the weekend before the battles begin again. Only a few more chapters to go. Thank you again to all the readers who enjoy this story and give me such wonderful reviews! It always brightens my day to see your posts! **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!**


	20. Chapter 20

Ichigo sat against the remains of a crumbling building; a hand pressed to his wounded side as he tried to catch his breath. All around him the remains of the fierce battle he and his friends just fought seemed to mock him in their intensity. Bricks lay scattered everywhere, smoke rose slowly from a small fire still remaining from one of Rukia's kido blasts. Furthur away a shattered pile of ice lay slowly melting under the afternoon sun. He couldn't see it clearly from where he sat but Ichigo knew that the largest chunk of ice near him held the head of the Arrancar Toshiro defeated.

Zangetsu sat next to him, stained crimson with the blood of one of the three Arrancars that ambushed them that day. Ichigo shifted to grab the hilt but had to stop as pain shot through him. Blood seeped through the fingers he had pressed against his side. He was wounded, as was many of his friends, but none were life threatening and Orihime was already healing everyone. She tried to heal him first but he persuaded her to tend to their friends first.

He looked over to see Yumichika speaking with a shinigami he wasn't familiar with but he recognized the man's patch as one from the 12th squad. They were probably assessing the damage from the fight. Luckily, Ichigo and Toshiro had been able to lead the Arrancar away from the school, were they showed up, to a more abandoned area on the outskirts of town. Yumichika still took precautions and had Soul Society set up a soul barrier around the battle.

Just like the last Arrancar Ichigo fought alone, the three that attacked were strong. They were probably Espada before Aizen demoted them in favor of his newer creations. None of the shinigami had their limiters removed but had it not been for everyone working together the battle could have had a very different outcome.

"Ichigo-kun?" He whipped his head to the side to see Orihime running up to him. He ran his eyes over her body, glad to see her un-harmed. She cast her healing dome over him before she could even get to his side. He relaxed against the building as the familiar reiatsu washed over him. His skin began to tingle and he knew her powers were reversing his injuries. Though he didn't know how she was able to heal without pain accompaning the process, he was glad for it.

"How is everyone Orihime?"

She sat down next to her Soten Kisshun and placed her hands on the golden surface, pouring her reiatsu into it to heal him faster. "Everyone's okay. Toshiro-kun and Rangiku-san are speaking with Urahara-san right now. I already healed Ishida-kun and Sado-kun. Rukia-chan and Renji-kun are having some minor injuries taken care of by Hanataro-kun. Apparently he came with some of the 12th squads members to help out."

"What about Ikaku?

She giggled. "He's sitting down away from everyone. He's mad he didn't get here in time to fight. Yumichika-kun said he's pouting."

A smile crossed Ichigo's face for the first time that afternoon. "Yeah, I bet he's pissed."

Orihime removed her dome once his injuries were healed. He barely had time to register she was moving before she threw herself into his arms. He wrapped his arms tightly around her as she buried her face into his neck. He had to strain to hear her muffled words.

"I was so worried about you."

"I know."

"I didn't want to stay back but I knew you were right."

He ran his fingers through her hair, letting the smell of her shampoo from that morning wash over him. He could feel her fingers grazing the back of his neck and right then he wasn't sure who had been more afraid during the battle. "Thank you for understanding that 'Hime. I'm sorry you had to watch from a safe place but you know I just can't let you get hurt."

She pulled back to look at him. "I know Ichigo-kun. I know my powers are for healing and I'm not very good at fighting, especially enemies as powerful as those were, but I can't help being so scared when I have to watch you get hurt."

Ichigo ran his thumb over her cheeks, brushing away the few stray tears that leaked from her stormy gaze. "I'd rather get hurt a million times than to see you get hurt ever again. I can't even think about that day Karin called dad and we found you in your apart..." He sighed heavily and leaned his forehead against hers. "You are so much stronger than me."

"Eh?"

"You see me get injured all the time and everytime you're right at my side afterwards healing me and giving me that beautiful smile. I know you're scared each time but you manage to have so much faith in me to win. I just can't do that Orihime. I can't ever see you hurt like that again. I'm not strong enough to deal with that."

"Ichigo."

"Promise me. Promise me you'll stay back and let me fight. Let me always protect you; just keep having that faith in me okay?"

The look in his eyes literally took her breath away. Even if she had been doubtful of his feelings, which she wasn't, there would be no way to deny the depth of love shineing through his eyes. She could also recognize the underlying fear there. She had that same look when he fought. The fear that he would get hurt beyond what she could reverse. The fear that he would be taken away from her. Though she might not like leaving the fighting entirely to him, she couldn't deny his request. Ichigo was a protector. He gained strength to fight so he could protect the people he loves. Not only that, he fought so no one else would ever have to suffer the loss that he did. She understood his reasonings and would always be there to back him up, to be his strength when he was weak and to heal any injury he was dealt.

"I promise. I love you Ichigo."

He cradled her face in his palms and whispered against her lips. "I love you so much Orihime." The kiss they shared was gentle and full of the love they felt for one another. He was so wrapped up in her, he failed to notice the reiatsu of the people approaching.

"I don't recall ever receiving that as part of her healing. No wonder Kurosaki-san is always able to bounce back from such horrible wounds."

"You won't receive it from her or anyone else so just drop it Kiskue."

"Now, now Yorichi-san if I recall correctly...ow! Was that necessary?"

"Just shut up."

Orihime couldn't help but giggle at the pair. Her embarrassment over Urahara's statement was long forgotten as she watched him banter with Yorichi.

"If you're all done here, we need to meet back at my shop." he said to Ichigo.

"What's up?"

The shopkeeper dropped his cheerful tone. "We've got some things to discuss."

* * *

"We deserve to be demoted. Apparently we're all fucking stupid! Well, you guys are stupid, I'm not. I'm not doing this anymore. I have no desire to be killed."

"I don't either and watch who you're calling stupid you ass. I'm not going either. I could give a fuck who takes over this shit-hole anyway. I'm out."

"So am I. I'm leaving this run down place. There's plenty of hollows around here to toy with. That bunch of shinigami can have it; I didn't even like Aizen."

"Hell neither did I!"

He watched from his perch atop the crumbling tower as the two remaining Arrancar left Las Noches for the outer parts of Hueco Mundo. The three who left for the living world hours ago wouldn't be returning. Every attempt had failed and it seemed the final two Arrancar were smarter than their fallen brethern.

That worked fine for him. The less interuptions the better. He was nearly ready to go see his old _friend_ anyway.

* * *

"We're thinking of invading Hueco Mundo once more."

Urahara's statement left many dropped jaws amongst the teens sitting around his table. The shinigami present showed no sign of shock; they were merely waiting for the sentence to take root in the groups brain. Ichigo was the first to regain his voice and he spoke his friends thought outloud.

"HUH?"

"This last battle was, obviously, the worst one yet. If we assume the caliber of Arrancar will continue to come much stronger than the last, as they have been doing, we can bet the next two will be fearsome opponents. We were lucky this time in that Hitsugaya-taicho and Kurosaki-san were able to lead the Arrancar away but that may not be the case for the next battle. If another fight breaks out like this last one, in the middle of Karakura, we could be endangering the lives of thousands." Everyone was silent, absoring Urahara's words. "In order to prevent this, the Captain Commander and the squad captains are discussing the possibility of invading Hueco Mundo again."

Ishida adjusted his glasses and turned his peircing gaze on Urahara. "I understand their reasoning but what about the Menos and other hollows present in Hueco Mundo. There are many other foes there besides the Arrancar and everyone that went last time can veryify the fact that we fought very hard before we even made it to Las Noches."

"I understand that as well Ishida-san. These things are very well known by the Captain Commander. That's why it is in discussion right now. They're weighing every factor before making a decision on this."

"There's only two Arrancar left. Why would they decide to do this now after we've gotten this far?"

"Good question Orihime-san. The fact is that we don't actually know if there are only two left to be dealt with. I don't know about you but I'm hesitant to take the word of an Espada on that matter."

Orihime had nothing to say to that. She truly did feel that Grimmjow had been telling the truth; he had never lied to her before, but saying that to a group of shinigami was not something she wanted to do.

"I will tell you this. I've already been asked by the Commander to prepare another garganta able to withstand many captain level reiatsu's."

"I thought you said they were still discussing wether to invade or not." Sado said.

"They are. However, with the request I suspect he already knows what the results of the meeting will be."

"You're being surprisingly open with us. Normally you don't tell us shit and we find out the hard way. What's the difference this time?" Ichigo asked with his normal candor.

Urahara sipped his tea before answering. "I want you to be prepared. Unlike last time you won't be leaving at the spur of the moment and you also already know what will await you on the other side. It will take me a week, at least, to prepare a garganta. We should have a decision from Soul Society within the next two days. I want you to be on guard in case an attack comes before then but if it doesn't, be prepared to leave for Hueco Mundo in a week."

Very little was said after that. Ichigo kept Orihime's hand tightly enclosed within his own thoughout the meeting and even as they left the shop. Once he left Hueco Mundo the first time he knew he never wanted to set foot in that hell hole again. However, he couldn't argue with Soul Society's logic. He saw the faces of his friends as they all departed the store. They shared the same hesitant look he did but he also recognized the spark of determination in their eyes. Even though venturing into Hueco Mundo was not something any of them wanted to do, they would do whatever was necessary to keep every one safe.

"Where are we going Ichigo-kun?"

"To my house. We need to talk to my dad. I don't want to leave again without him knowing what's going on. Well, I'm sure Urahara-san will tell him everything anyway but I want to do it this time."

The pair were silent as they continued on to his house. There was so much going on Orihime didn't know where to begin. For now, she simply held onto Ichigo's hand; giving him whatever comfort she could. As they approached his house, they saw Yuzu and Karin leaving with Jinta and Ururu.

"Where are you guys going?" Ichigo asked his sisters.

"Oh hey onii-chan, Orihime-chan!" Yuzu said with a little wave. "It's so nice outside I wanted to have a picnic. We're all going to the park, did you wanna come?"

"No thanks. Have fun though." Ichigo and Jinta nodded slightly to each other before the younger group left. It was a little weird to Ichigo how he actually did trust Jinta to keep watch over his sisters. He may not like the kid too much but he had proven himself to be capable of protecting Yuzu and Karin. Ichigo led Orihime inside; he found his father sitting in the living room.

"Ichigo! I see you brought my beautiful future daughter-in-law with you! Orihime-chan how are you my dear?"

"Drop it dad. We need to talk."

Isshin watched his son with critical eyes as he and Orihime sat across from him. "Does it have anything to do with those heavy reiatsus I felt earlier."

"Kinda. Three more Arrancar attacked. We defeated them all but afterwards Urahara-san told us that the commander and the captains were thinking about invading Hueco Mundo again." Ichigo watched his father closely. It still surprised him when his father became so serious and reliable like this. He was too used to dealing with the immature, overly energetic side of his father.

"Well, if the remaining Arrancar are anything like what you fought earlier that would probably be a good idea. It felt like you took the battle far away this time. If you had fought in town there's no telling what kind of damage the souls around here would have taken."

"Yeah, that's what Urahara-san said. I understand that and I pretty much agree that going to Hueco Mundo would be the best bet but..."

"Ichigo-kun, but..."

He squeezed her hand and was glad when she let him finish. "But, I also don't like the idea. Hell, we all only just made it back alive last time. And like Urahara-san said, who's to say there really are only two Arrancar left? There could be a fucking army of them waiting for us just to waltz in there."

"Are you being a coward again Ichigo?"

"Kurosaki-san." Orihime whispered. She couldn't believe he would say that to his son. There was something she was obviously missing though. Father and son sat, not glaring at each other, but staring into one another's eyes; having a conversation no one else would be privy to.

"You gotta keep that confidence and strength with you Ichigo. If you go into Hueco Mundo thinking you and your friends are gonna die, then you will. If you let the Arrancar continue to come here then you run the risk of countless people getting hurt or possibly dying. Which is the better choice Ichigo?"

"I know that."

"Then stop this pussy attitude. What's crying about the situtation gonna get you? Not a damn thing!"

"I know that!" Ichigo hollered right back at his father. He stood up abruptly from the couch. "Damn you can be so annoying. I'll be right back 'Hime. I'm gonna grab us some drinks."

Orihime watched him leave the room, his shoulders once again held back and his step had his usual confident stride in it.

"I'm sorry if that seemed harsh to you." Orihime turned around to watch Isshin speaking to her. He was slumped against the back of the couch regarding her with a tired looking smile. "I'm sure it did. I called my son a coward but that's the only way to get through that thick head of his. Whenever he feels like he's getting over whelmed he starts second guessing himself and that kind of thinking will get him killed."

"Please don't apologize. I know your relationship with Ichigo is a bit...different, but it works for both of you. Besides, it seems that was what he needed to hear."

"I hope so. I haven't exactly done right by him this whole time."

"Kurosaki-san, I'm sure you had your reasons for keeping everything from him. He knows that as well. I know this is still difficult for you both but at least you are able to talk about it now. He didn't just come to tell you that he wouldn't be around. I know, on some level, he was looking for your advice as well."

Isshin sat up a little straighter and smiled at the young woman. "Have I told you lately how glad I am you're with my idiot son?"

She laughed at his statement but before she could reply Ichigo came back with bottled water for them both.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing Ichigo-kun." She couldn't help but giggle again when he raised his eyebrow at her. She left his house a little later; Rangiku-san came to pick her up for a 'girl's night'. She didn't say anything but smiled and kissed Ichigo goodbye. Girls night was on Saturdays and it was only Wednesday evening. She wasn't sure what Rangiku was planning but she knew from experience that it could either be fun or horribly embarrassing. With the way Rangiku was smiling, she was betting on the latter.

* * *

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"I'm glad I let Rangiku talk me into eating this. It was actually really good!" Rukia exclaimed as she sat her fork back on her now spotless plate.

"Yeah, sometimes your food scares me but that was actually pretty good Orihime."

"Thank you Tatsuki-chan! I'm so glad you all liked it!" Orihime sat surrounded by her three best girl friends at her table. After Rangiku picked her up from Ichigo's house they made a quick stop by the store for ingredients then left for her apartment where Rukia and Tatsuki were already waiting for them. So far, the night had been fun. She was just waiting on the other shoe to drop. She had a pretty good idea what Rangiku was gonna bring up and she didn't know any way to get out of it.

"I'm glad mom didn't hound me about coming over here tonight. It's been way to long since we got together Orihime." Tatsuki said.

"I know Tatsuki-chan and I'm sorry about that. So much has been going on lately."

"Don't apologize Orihime. I know it's been rough on you. I'm just glad you're okay and that we were able to do this."

Orihime immediately felt guilty. She knew she should tell Tatsuki about her possibly having to leave for Hueco Mundo once again but she knew out of everything else that happened, her friend would lose it over that. She wouldn't lie to her again though. They promised each other there would be no lies between them. She would wait until it was offical though. If Soul Society came back with the decision to invade Hueco Mundo then she would have no choice but to tell her friend everything. For now, she would just avoid that topic.

"Okay, I'll get the dessert." Rangiku said before dissappearing into the kitchen.

"How is Renji-kun doing Rukia-chan? I wasn't able to really see him earlier today."

An uncharacteristic blush spread over Rukia's cheeks causing the young healer to begin squealing immediately. "Rukia-chan! Did something happen with Renji-kun?"

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait, wait! I'm coming and don't you dare make me miss this!" Rangiku shouted. She appeared moments later running back to the table, bowls tipping precariously on the platter they sat on. The ice cream and toppings were slung hapazardly onto the table as the busty woman directed all her attention to the petite shinigami. "Okay Kuchiki, spill it."

The poor woman sputtered and mumbled while trying to hide her red cheeks. "I...I d-don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh try that on someone else Kuchiki-san. You might as well be wearing a sign that says ask me what happened! Now tell us everything!" Tatsuki said.

Rukia looked around at her friends who had their eyes trained on her. She dipped her head and mumbled something but the girls couldn't hear her.

"What was that?" Orihime said.

"Come on Kuchiki. It's just us girls here, now speak up." Rangiku chided.

"Fine. He kissed me." Rukia finally admitted which was met by the happy squeals of the three remaining women.

"Tell us everything Rukia!" Orihime said, elbows on the table leaning towards the shorter woman. Rukia looked around at her friends and realized for the first time in her life she had female friends to confide her secrets in. Before she became a shinigami, she had Renji and the other boys from the slums. Once she was a shinigami, she was adopted into the Kuchiki family and though she was never alone, she didn't truly have anyone to talk to. This conversation may not be appropiate for a 'Kuchiki' but she really didn't care. She couldn't be happier that she now had these women around her.

"Well, after Hanataro got finished healing us, we took off to patrol around town. We wanted to make sure that no other hollows or arrancar were taking advantage of the lack of protection for the town."

"uh huh." one of the girls said.

"So we got to talking about the attack while we were searching and he started apologizing for me getting hurt. Like usual I started yelling at him saying I could take care of myself and all the sudden he stopped me. He was so serious when he was looking at me. He said he knew I could take care of myself but that didn't stop him from wanting to protect me."

"And...?" Orihime prodded with a huge smile on her face.

"And...well..." Rukia's blush was reaching new heights. "He sorta hugged me and asked me if it was okay for him wanting to protect me. I think I said yeah, or I just shook my head yes I really don't remember cause he was looking at me all...intense... and he...he kissed me."

"What did you do Kuchiki-san? Don't leave us hanging!" Tatsuki said.

"What do you think? I kissed him back! I've only been waiting ages for the idiot to that!" Rukia shouted in her embarassment before she realized what she admitted. She laid her head on the table as the girls broke into a chorus of laughter.

"I'm happy for you Kuchiki. So what? Are you two dating now? What about your brother?" Rangiku asked.

"He said, if it was okay, he wanted to talk to nii-sama soon about offically courting me."

Rangiku hugged the smaller woman but Orihime and Tatsuki just looked on confused. "Oh sorry girls. Let me explain for Kuchiki. Within the noble families there are still many formalities that have to be followed. For Renji to ask permission to formally court Kuchiki is like asking to offically date her."

"Oh, well that's wonderful Rukia-chan!" Orihime said.

"Wait, I'm not done yet." Rangiku interrupted. "Offically courting someone means more than just that. Yes, it gives the man permission to formally see the woman but it also means that he is serious with his intentions."

"I'm not getting it." Tatsuki said.

"It means he has an intent to marry her one day."

The sound of a pin dropping could be heard for approximately 5 seconds before Orihime and Tatsuki threw their arms around Rukia in their happiness for her.

"Okay, okay. That's enough about my life. I can only stand so much." Rukia said but the smile on her face detracted from the harshness in her voice. "Let's talk about someone else."

"Oh, I have just the person for that." Rangiku said with a mischevious grin in place. "Or-i-hi-me-chan. Now the other day you mumbled, and stuttered, and avoided the subject so harshly I thought you'd pass out which, as a matter of fact, is the only reason I dropped it. That's not gonna happen today so tell me the truth...did you and Ichigo finally sleep together?"

Orihime sat like a deer caught in the headlights as she watched the other two women face her with wide eyes and lowered jaws. Rukia was rapidly turning a new shade of red and Tatsuki looked like she couldn't decide if she want to hug her friend in happiness or find Ichigo and remove certain parts of his anatomy.

"Well...umm...you see," Orihime began before Tatsuki began sputtering.

"You did. Oh sweet kami, you did!"

"Don't try to get out of this one Orihime-chan."

"Orihime, I can't believe it. Did you?"

She faced her interrogators and decided to get it over quickly, just like removing a band-aid. "Yes, we did."

Another chorus of squeals, much like before, sounded throughout the apartment and she was suddenly bombarded by a multitude of questions. They talked over each other so much that Orihime could barely make out what any of them were saying.

"Girls, girls! Calm down. Orihime-chan can't even hear us, plus you gotta remember we still have to respect her privacy." Rangiku said with surprising sterness.

"Yeah, your right." Tatsuki said.

"Forgive my rudeness." Rukia said.

"Exactly." Rangiku turned back to Orihime. "So, tell us, is his sword the only big weapon he's carrying?"

"RANGIKU-SAN!" The girls yelled together with matching blushes on their faces. Orihime promptly ducked under the table and buried her head in her arms. She was so embarrassed. She could never show her face to any of them again. Kami, she wouldn't even be able to look Ichigo in the eye for at least a week! She could hear the three of them over the table. Rukia's embarrassment was obvious in her voice. Tatsuki was taking up for her poor embarrassed friend, but she was definetly more amused by the question than Rukia. Rangiku just continued to laugh at the situtation.

Slowly Orihime removed her head from her self-made barricade and listened to her friends with a smile slowly appearing on her face. Yes, she was embarrassed beyond belief but really the whole situtation was become more funny to her than anything. She had been somewhat prepared for this. Rangiku had been grinning too much tonight so Orihime knew something like this would happen. As she continued to listen to her friends talking excitedly over the table a laugh began to work it's way past her lips. She was so blessed to have friends like these.

"Inoue Orihime! You had better have used protection, do you hear me? I am too damn young to be an aunt already! Get out from under that table and answer me young lady!"

_Ah, protective Tatsuki-chan finally shows up. _Good thing she could answer yes to that one. Last thing she needed was Tatsuki to get mad and go on a rant about that! Kami, she would have probably went beating on Ichigo's door then she really would have to run away and become a hermit somewhere just to avoid the embarrassment from that.

"Orihime, if I have to come under there and get you I'm gonna make you answer Rangiku's questions!"

Orihime really couldn't help herself but to erupt in laughter over that. no matter how embarrassing or overprotective they were, she really loved her friends.

* * *

The night air was balmy against his skin as he sat on his front step and enjoyed his tea. Yorichi sat next to him, in her cat form, gently lapping the milk he provided for her. It had been only a little over 30 hours since he told the young group about the potential invasion so he knew the visit was coming. He was not surprised when the senkaimon opened only a few feet in front of him.

"Ah, Hitsugaya-taicho, what a nice evening for a visit. Is this for business or pleasure?" the shopkeeper asked in his usual cheerful way; his fan hiding the non-existant smile his voice held.

The young captain didn't reply to the question nor did he greet the former captain. He stepped out of the senkaimon and came directly in front of the pair. His smooth voice finializing what Urahara had already suspected.

"As soon as you complete the garganta, we invade."

* * *

**A/N: I apologize for the late update but alas...life happens. :)**

**I hope you enjoy the chapter and please review. **


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: I just want to say thank you once again to my readers. Can I just tell you, you guys are the best there are! **

**Everyone of you always put a smile on my face and give me such encouraging words! Thank you so much for your support. **

**Sorry for the late update but I hope you enjoy the chapter! **

**As always, reviews are so very much appreciated!**

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* * *

The night provided a breeze that ran against her skin causing goosebumps to raise on her arm. She welcomed the chill; it helped to distract her, at least momentarily, from her brooding thoughts. She knew it was going to be difficult when she talked to Tatsuki, but she wasn't fully prepared for her friends tears. As soon as she received word earlier that day from Urahara-san that they would be invading Hueco Mundo in two days, she knew she had to tell her best friend where they would be going. Ichigo told her he would speak to Tatsuki with her, but she wanted it to be a more private moment with her best friend and now she was glad she had done so.

Tatsuki would have never wanted anyone to see her cry like that except Orihime.

Tatuski told her she understood why, told her she knew it had to be done, but that didn't change the fact that she was so scared for her best friend. The stories Orihime told her about Hueco Mundo were not pleasant ones and the karate champion made sure she brought up everyone of the dangers she could think of to warn Orihime about. The healer did her best to reassure her friend that this time would be different; they would be going in as a group, united together, but it did little to make her feel better. Just the remote possibility that Tatsuki wouldn't see her again was enough to shake the strong barriers of her independent, fierce personality.

The pair sat in Tatsuki's bedroom for a few hours, talking and comforting each other. When Orihime was ready to leave, she decided to take the longer way back to her home and stopped by the river. Sitting herself down on the banks, she leaned back into her hands and tried to just enjoy the calm night sky. The face of her surrogate sister crying kept flashing through her mind though. Orihime rubbed her hands vigorously along her arms to ward off the slight chill. Thankfully, no one else had come along while she had been there, as well as no Arrancars or hollows. She was supposed to have called Ichigo when she was ready to leave but she needed the time alone right then.

Her own emotions were mixed about returning to Hueco Mundo. She had sworn she would never return to that desolate wasteland. After being rescued from the so-called palace of Las Noches, and getting into the garganta with Ishida, she had taken a final glance of the barren landscape and wished it good riddance. Now she was being told they would have to return.

Oh, Ichigo had given her a way out and told her he would actually feel better if she would stay behind. That was simply not an option for her. While she understood his reasons for wanting her to stay behind, she couldn't very well let her friends walk into a battle without being there to help protect them and heal their injuries. And if the fighting would be anything like the last time, there would be a definite need for her healing powers.

She honestly felt like Grimmjow was telling the truth about the numbers of Arrancar left over, but Urahara's statement about there being a larger number of Arrancar than what they were expecting would not leave her head. It had already been decided that the team going would consist of Ichigo, herself, Ishida, Sado, Rukia, Renji, Toshiro, Byakuya, and Kenpachi. Toshiro was ordering Rangiku to stay behind in the living world along with Ikkaku and Yumichika in case the Arrancar decided to attack there. Kenpachi told Toshiro there was no way he was missing another battle and Byakuya would not say the reason he was going, only that he was.

Orihime was sure he was going to keep an eye on Rukia. She was badly injured the last time and if he hadn't shown up with Hanataro she might not have made it. Regardless of the way he sometimes presented himself, she knew he cared about his sister a great deal; that's why he volunteered. Yamamoto-taicho had only asked for volunteers this time, instead of handing out orders, and the three captains immediately agreed for the mission.

It was getting late but there was no need to rush home tonight. The group agreed they should just go ahead and miss school the next day so they could be sure to prepare for the invasion to take place the day after tomorrow. There was nothing she needed to prepare, besides assuring she had her hairpins with her, so she continued to gaze into the stars, sending up her own prayers for everyone's safe return.

She felt his familiar reiatsu closing in on her quickly and she turned her head to greet him as he bounded over the hill to her side.

"Hey Ichigo-kun."

"Orihime, what are you doing here? I told you to call me and I'd come walk you home didn't I?" he said as he slid Zangetsu off his back to sit beside her.

"Yeah, but I wanted to be alone for a little while. Everything's been fine so please don't worry."

"Is everythig okay with you and Tatsuki?"

"Yeah, well, it is but she's upset of course. She doesn't want any of us to go back there but she knows it isn't something we can avoid."

"Orihime..."

"I'm going Ichigo." she interrupted, knowing what discussion he was going to return to. She heard him sigh heavily before he laced their fingers together.

"Fine. I won't say it again but I will make you promise to me **again...**you will stay near me and do your absolute best to stay safe."

"I will Ichigo, you know that; but I will also protect those I can and I will heal any injuries that arise. I'm not going just so I can be near everyone. I'm going to help us win this war so we can all come back home...together."

He raised their joined hands and kissed the back of hers softly. "I know and we will." They sat in silence together and watched the slow moving river reflecting the glow of the night sky for a while longer, each of them involved in their own thoughts that mirrored the others.

They rose together later and began a leisurely pace back to her apartment where Toshiro and Rangiku were already waiting for her.

* * *

Ichigo ran behind Byakuya and Ishida along the pathway they made through the garganta. Their control of reiatsu was much more refined than his own so he didn't even voice a complaint when they stepped in front of him when Urahara opened the portal. Orihime ran beside him, her hair flying wildly behind her. As much as he wanted to protest and force her to stay behind, he knew she wouldn't. He also admitted to himself that they needed her healing powers. Even if someone from the fourth squad had accompanied them, which they didn't, her powers healed faster and she could focus on her surroundings and place her golden barrier to protect them if needs be; something the members of the fourth squad were unable to do.

The others ran behind him, everyone silent except for their slightly labored breathing. Not much had been said in the shop before they all left. There was none of the usual joking nor light hearted banter amongst them; the situation was too serious to allow them their usual frustration outlets. Urahara had wished them a safe journey before they all departed and now, they all ran towards that desolate landscape once again with thoughts of the upcoming battles firm in their minds.

The stale air of Hueco Mundo hit their faces as they emerged from the garganta. Off in the distance, they could see the crumbling remains of Las Noches. Pillars were half destroyed from their previous battles, as well as some more recent ones. Unlike last time, when Ichigo and his friends entered into the building itself, they found themselves standing in the desert portion of Hueco Mundo.

Ichigo took in their surroundings, pleased to see no one around them for the moment. As they previously discussed, Byakuya led one squad of himself, Rukia, and Renji. Toshiro would head another with Sado and Ishida leaving Orihime and Ichigo to go with Kenpachi. The group re-vowed their promise to meet up again, as they had before, and split in their separate directions; Ichigo's group running forwards, towards Las Noches.

It seemed not much had changed since the last time he set foot in this plane of existance. Small, creatures donning hollow masks flittered about moving out of their way as they ran. Nothing else marred the landscape save for a random withered tree.

Ichigo stopped abruptly in his tracks as he heard Orihime gasp. Neither himself or Kenpachi were able to feel reiatsu's very well so he was already prepared to be aware of Orihime's reactions to foreign reiatsu's.

"What is it Orihime?"

"Right ahead...I-I'm not sure..."

Kenpachi stood in front of them listening so he was hit with the large spray of sand that was launched into the air as the enormous menos landed in front of them. Two others descended behind them and immediatley formed ceros in front of their mouths. Ichigo grabbed Orihime around the waist and shunpoed away from the blast. He deposited her safely to the side of the battle and was about to instruct her to raise her shield when Kenpachi called out to him.

"Oi Ichigo. What are you waiting around for?"

The bright haired teens were gaping at the sight before them. Regardless of the fact that they had seen his strength in battle before, it was an astounding sight to see how quickly he had disposed of the three large menos. Orihime broke her trance first.

"Come on Ichigo-kun, maybe you can fight the next ones." she giggled when he turned his unamused face towards her but fell in step along with her.

From the east, he saw the glow of a large cero blast erupt and Ichigo had to force himself to keep moving forward. He knew his friends were strong and could fight for themselves but he couldn't help but to worry about their welfare. Orihime sensed his tension and placed her hand on his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze to show she felt the same.

The group traveled at a slower pace but continued moving forward. No other attacks came and it had Ichigo feeling very uneasy. The cero blast he'd seen near his friends earlier was the first and last indication he'd seen of any battles. Time dragged onward as they continued towards Las Noches. When they finally first stepped onto the crumbling pathways of the enormous building, Ichigo grabbed Orihime's hand and squeezed it lightly. Though she didn't say anything outloud, her face showed her gratitude for his support.

"What the hell? I came here to have some fun dammit! There hasn't been a single arrancar around!" Kenpachi growled.

"Isn't that a good thing though?" Orihime replied meekly in the presence of the near barbaric warrior.

"Hell no. I wouldn't have drug my ass out to this piece of shit hell-hole if there wasn't gonna be any fighting."

"We gotta keep searching. They're probably hiding somewhere." Ichigo said.

"Tch. You search, I'm sitting down right here until I see something to kill."

Kenpachi sat down on the nearest stone surface and made himself comfortable. No amount of coaxing from Ichigo would rouse the man and he was losing his patience. Orihime was about to try and calm Ichigo down when the cell phone Rukia gave her began going off.

She fiddled with the buttons for a few moments before finally figuring out how it worked. "Umm...hello?"

"Orihime!" Rukia's frantic voice screamed from the other end. "We've been ambushed by a large group of hollows and adjuchas. We need back up. Can you guys come?" Her voice carried loudly so the others heard Rukia's question. Orihime looked up to Ichigo, question poised at her lips, when Kenpachi interrupted.

"Finally! Ichigo, you stay here. I'm not letting you get any of the fun."

"Kenpachi wait a..." Ichigo began but Kenpachi shunpoed away.

"Rukia-chan, Zaraki-san just left headed your way."

"Thanks." was the only reply before she hung up.

"When did she give you that?"

"Shortly before we left. We wanted to have some kind of way to communicate since we would be splitting up. I'm glad she did now."

"Yeah, it was a good idea."

"Ichigo-kun, is it okay for us to let Zaraki-san go to them by himself?"

"It's fine. I'm tired of listening to him bitch anyway. Come on, we'll look around here some more."

The pair stayed close together as they walked around the grounds of Las Noches. Silence was the only thing that greeted them. Dark, dried stains littered the stone pathways. Orihime shivered as she realized it was probably blood left from their last unwanted visit there. As they turned the corner of the building, she felt a dampened presence. It was a familiar reiatsu that seemed to be leaking out in bursts; as if the owner was trying to call her attention. Shivers ran down her spine, this time in fear.

"Ichigo." she whispered.

The fear in her voice made him go on alert instantly. He allowed his senses to flare out as he concentrated on finding what caused her worry. Almost immediately, he felt the pulse of reiatsu and he placed himself in front of her.

"Took you long enough."

Ichigo followed the voice upward with his eyes and saw Grimmjow sitting atop one of the crumbling pillars. He kept one long leg dangling while he had the other bent and his arm rested against it. His pose was leisurely but his eyes were concentrated on their every move.

"Grimmjow, what are you doing here?"

"Waiting on you." he replied instantly.

"We're here for the other arrancar, not for you." Ichigo replied. He'd already removed Zangetsu from his back and now held the sword by his side.

"You're wasting your time with that. They've already left."

"What do you mean Grimmjow?" Orihime asked.

"The last two took off a few days ago after the others reiatsu disappeared in the living world. Said they didn't have any reason to fight you humans and they didn't wanna die. They ran off like the cowards they are."

"Really?" Ichigo asked in disbelief.

"I already told you shinigami, I don't lie."

"Kurosaki!"

The bright haired teens both turned at the voice. Sado, Ishida, and Toshiro were running up to them; each with their weapons drawn.

"Shoulda gotten more hollows."

Though the statement had been said softly, Ichigo still heard it.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I could tell you brought more _friends_" he sneered the word as if it left a horrible taste in his mouth "with you. Couldn't have them distracting our fight so I gave them something to play with."

"You sent those hollows after Rukia-chan and the rest?" Orihime asked.

"Yeah, didn't have too many left for this group. They must've finished them off already."

"He is correct about that." Ishida said. "It wasn't a particularly large group but they were strong. Fortunately, one of them said something about 'Grimmjows orders' to the others so we finished them off quickly to come find you."

"This has nothing to do with the rest of you." Grimmjow said menacingly.

"What do you want Grimmjow? We've already fought. You lost but you're alive, can't you be happy with that."

"The fight wasn't over!" he screamed. "It was interrupted by Nnoitra! I am not done with you Kurosaki!"

Ichigo didn't immediately respond to his cries of outrage. Something like pity entered his eyes as he looked at the Espada again. "I'm done with you though, Grimmjow." Ichigo turned to leave the area and his friends fell in step behind him.

Grimmjow was seething with rage. How dare this useless fucking _human_ continue to look down on him? Ichigo turning his back on the fight was nothing more than cowardice in his eyes. He demanded his fight with the shinigami. The scar that raked across his chest almost seemed to burn as his temper exploded. Twice now he had fought the orange haired shinigami and they had never finished the battle. Ichigo's death would be the only thing to quench his desire to fight the man. But right now, his eyes held none of the desire to fight Grimmjow longed to see.

He wanted to kill him when he was at his strongest. Only then could he prove he was the better fighter; prove he was stronger than the damn shinigami. Hands clenched at his sides as he watched the group continue to walk away. Taunting his prey had not worked. How could he get that anger to surface once again?

A slow, feral grin appeared on his face as he recalled certain events that provoked the short temper on the human. Dust kicked up around him as he used his sonido to get to that retreating figure.

Ichigo was strapping Zangetsu to his back when he felt the reiatsu suddenly pop up right behind his group. The muffled squeak he heard made him whip his head around and grind his teeth in anger.

Grimmjow stood back from the group, holding Orihime captive in his arms. His face held his twisted smile as his hand covered her mouth. Ichigo watched in disgust as Grimmjow's hand covered her flat abdomen and pushed her back against his chest. Grey eyes wide with fright stared back into his chocolate orbs.

"Let her go Grimmjow." Ichigo ground out.

"Why Kurosaki? I thought you were leaving. You didn't wanna fight remember?"

"I'm not telling you again." Their friends watched on in fear as Ichigo's reiatsu began to swell around him.

"You will fight me Kurosaki. If you aren't in the mood to fight me now I can always change that." Grimmjow began trailing the hand resting on Orihime's stomach up her torso. "Does this piss you off?" The hand was dangerously close to her chest now. Bits of black began leaking into Ichigo's steel gaze. "Perhaps you understand now Kurosaki. Nothing will stand in the way of our fight. Not even your damn self." His hand moved away from her chest to clench her waist and keep her in place. Without breaking eye contact with Ichigo, Grimmjow leaned down and bit Orihime's throat, his sharp incisors piercing her flesh. She whimpered in pain as a thin trail of blood washed down her neck.

Ichigo's reiatsu was so heavy his friends began to struggle to stay upright. A dark feeling crept into his lighter reiatsu that sent chills down their spines. They all knew his hollow was begging to be freed.

"Let's do this." Ichigo muttered darkly to the blue haired Espada.

Grimmjow pushed Orihime away from him and leapt high into the sky. Ishida rushed forward to catch her. Ichigo paused only for a second to make sure she would be okay before exploding upward to follow the Espada.

"Inoue-san, are you okay?"

"Y-yes. Thank you Ishida-kun." She called out Shuno and Ayame to heal the bite at her throat. Never would she have imagined Grimmjow to treat her person like he did. Of course, it was all nothing but a taunt to get Ichigo to fight but she still felt dirty. All she wanted to do was rush home, take a hot shower, and wrap Ichigo's arms around her. That wasn't an option, so she at least took care of the physical wounds he left behind.

A heavy blast of wind flew from the fighting pair above them, scattering the sand in all directions. Orihime called her shield out in front of the group so they would be protected as they watched the horrifying scene.

Grimmjow raised his hand, forming the blue light of his Gran Rey Cero before blasting it towards Ichigo. When the smoke cleared from the explosion, Ichigo's hollow mask was on. They heard Grimmjow laugh heartily.

"That's it. Fight me with everything you've got so when you die you'll have no regrets!" they heard him scream.

"What's happening?"

They turned to see the others running up to them. Orihime quickly scanned their group for injuries. While there were some, none looked serious so she turned back to the fight. A small part of her chastised herself for leaving them hurting but she just had to focus on the battle right now. She knew how strong Grimmjow was and she worried for her love.

She heard the voices behind her but she didn't bother to turn around or try to listen to them.

"Orihime, are you alright?" Rukia asked as she knelt down beside the healer. Orihime saw her eyes searching her now healed throat. Someone must have filled them in on what happened.

"I'm fine Rukia-chan." she replied without her usual smile. She simply clutched her arms tight to her body as she watched Ichigo be thrown back by a strong kick from Grimmjow. Rukia's arms came around her shoulders for support. The girls watched on in horror as Grimmjow raked his hands along his sword before crying out his sword's release.

"Grind! Pantera!"

Ichigo clenched his hand around his Tensa Zangetsu as Grimmjow stood across from him in his released form.

_**"Kill him. Kill him. Kill him." **_

The words of his hollow rang loudly in his head, nearly distracting him from battle. He parried an attack by the Espada before launching another Getsuga Tenshou at him.

_**"He touched our queen. Cut off his hands. Cut the toungue from his mouth. Fucking kill him!"**_

Ichigo barely felt the pain from Grimmjow's claws as they sliced into his side. Instead, he found himself melding more with his hollows heavy reiatsu and attacking the Espada relentlessly. He dodged the darts Grimmjow shot at him, knowing first hand what they would do on impact, and used his shunpo to come up beside him and land a heavy slash of his sword to the man's thigh. Blood poured down his sword onto his hands, but he ignored it and wrapped his reiatsu around his sword and clashed with Grimmjows claws.

"I will kill you Kurosaki." Grimmjow uttered and kicked Ichigo in the stomach, throwing him into the side of another pillar. The light from another cero leaked into his blurred vision and Ichigo fired his getsuga to stop the attack. The pair flew at one another; fists met flesh in quick punches dealing heavy damage to one another. Ichigo slashed at him again with Zangetsu, getting by his attempt to block it, and sliced open the flesh of his left arm.

"You touched what is mine." Ichigo muttered darkly as he swung again, this time slicing open his shoulder. Grimmjow fell back, panting hard from the damage he'd taken and the heavy blood loss. He tried to stand but fell back onto one knee. Ichigo stood still for a moment, shutting out his hollows cries and allowing his emotions to calm down once again. The battle was nearly won; Grimmjow could hardly go on and Ichigo found himself loath to kill him. "Stay the fuck away from us Grimmjow." he spat and turned to leave.

"You leave and I will only attack her again. Wether it be today or in the future, be sure I will find you both."

Ichigo turned around to face him again and Grimmjow made his way to his feet.

"This is a battle to the death. Don't forget that human." he sneered. "One of us will kill the other. If you make the mistake of leaving this battle again I will hunt her down and destroy her in front of you before taking your life."

Ichigo stood still in front of him, making no move to leave now. Grimmjow launched himself at Ichigo's still form.

The onlookers below had not heard their words and watched in horror as Grimmjow flew towards Ichigo, who seemed to be lost in thought. Orihime screamed out a warning for him that turned into one of horror as they watched Ichigo swing Zangetsu once sideways. She turned her face aside, unwilling to watch the now disemboweled body fall to the ground.

As Ichigo decended to them, the remenants of his mask disappearing, his friends didn't know what to say to him. Though he won the battle, his face still held such anger they were almost afraid to break the stilted silence. He strode past them and knelt to Orihime, whose face was still averted. Once he placed his hands gently on her shoulders she looked up to him.

"Ichigo, are you okay?" she whispered. "Sit down, let me heal you." His eyes burned with emotions she couldn't place before his face finally softened slightly.

"Heal me at the shop. For now, let's just get out of here." He gently pulled her to her feet and the group walked away from Las Noches.


	22. Chapter 22

A multitude of questions bombarded them as the group exited the gargantua into Urahara's shop. Ichigo ignored them all and walked calmly to a corner, sitting down with his back to the wall. Orihime followed him silently and once he was settled, she called forth her healing dome and wrapped him in it. Ichigo said nothing during this time, opting instead to send her a thankful look and block out the sounds of conversation around him. Grimmjow's words and actions still rang throughout his mind leaving his emotions in a volatile state. The bite mark was no longer on Orihime's neck but he could still clearly picture the Espada's teeth sinking into his woman's neck. Anger surged through his body and his hollow continued to make his presence known. For now, Ichigo tried his best to ignore the base cries of his counterpart. Once they were finished reporting he would take action.

"Kurosaki-san, is everything okay?" he heard the shopkeeper ask.

"Yeah. Thanks Orihime."

She lowered her dome as the healing was complete and turned her attention to the group.

"Okay then." Urahara said, though he looked as if he didn't believe the young man. "You were saying Byakuya-taicho."

"We encountered no other Arrancar nor felt any other reiatsu in the surrounding area. There do not appear to be any other to threaten us at this time."

"Grimmjow said the last two left the area. He claims they have no wish to fight us and left to be in peace." Orihime offered.

"Perhaps he was telling the truth then. I'm glad the trip was a relatively easy one, besides Kurosaki-san getting injured that is."

"Yes well, at least the last Espada has been taken care of. It does seem as if the last remaining threats left by Aizen have been removed." Ishida commented.

"Tch, it was a waste of time if you ask me." Kenpachi supplied. "I'm heading back." He opened a senkaimon and left the group.

"Come Renji." Byakuya said and followed the captain of the 11th squad.

"Yes taicho. Come on Rukia, we're done here I guess."

"Ichigo, we'll be in touch." the petite shinigami said and left to follow the others.

"Yeah, see ya."

"Thank you for your assistance in this matter Urahara-san." Toshiro's stoic voice said. "Come everyone. We have completed our mission here."

Rangiku ran to Orihime and embraced the young woman. "I'll try to come back and see you real soon Orihime-chan. Take care of everyone okay?"

"I will Rangiku-san. Take care."

Orihime watched with sadness as the last group of her shinigami friends left the world of the living. Though she was sad to see them go, she was happy that this tumultuous time in her life had passed. She knew they would keep their word and she would see them again soon. For now, she could once again focus on her normal life.

"I'm certainly glad this is over." Ishida said.

"So am I Ishida-kun. Though I will miss everyone." Orihime said.

"Fear not Inoue-san. I'm sure you will see them all again soon. Though hopefully, it will not be under such dire circumstances." Urahara said.

"I know. Thank you though Urahara-san."

"Ichigo!" Kon said as he entered the room in the substitute's body. "You should thank me for coming down here and bringing your body back to you! I could be spending the last precious moments of free time I have checking out the beautiful women of this town but I gave that up to come greet you!"

Ichigo stood slowly and pulled Orihime up with him. He didn't turn to face Kon but walked slowly towards the exit, speaking to him over his shoulder.

"Kon, go back home. If my father asks, tell him I'll be home in the morning." He gently pulled Orihime through the door and left the room without a backwards glance.

The occupants of the room watched him leave with obvious questions on their faces.

"What was that about? Is he staying with Orihime-chan tonight?" Kon asked.

"I'm fairly certain he is and I hope she can get him out of this mood he's in. His reiatsu has barely calmed down since we left Hueco Mundo." Ishida said.

Urahara smiled behind his open fan. He was sure the young vizard would be fine in the morning, though he had no intention of telling that to his guests.

* * *

-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-

"Ichigo-kun, what's going on? Are you okay?" Orihime asked for what seemed like the hundredth time as they hastily made their way to her apartment. Since leaving Urahara's shop, Ichigo had not said one word. She could still feel his reiatsu swirling violently about him and his face was etched with a deep scowl. He gave up walking to her place shortly after they left and swept her into his arms as he took to the skies in his haste to reach their destination. When he reached her front door, he finally placed her back on her feet to allow her to search for the key. She quickly opened the door but before she could even enter she felt him gather her in his arms and rush them inside. The sound of the door slamming shut barely registered with her as his lips were aggressively planted on hers, blocking out the world around them. His kiss was all consuming, almost violent in its intensity. One of his hands fisted in her hair, pulling backwards to open her up for him even further. Orihime was quickly swept up in the emotions coming from her boyfriend and submitted to him fully. His other hand ran down her back before slipping into her clothes and squeezing the bare flesh of her buttocks. The pleasantly shocked squeal that came from her was lost in his mouth.

Pulling her head to the side, Ichigo ripped his mouth from hers to run kisses across her jaw and down her neck. He heard her moan of pleasure as he pressed her hips into his own. As he found the particular area he was searching for, he forced her against the wall and latched onto the juncture of her neck. He sucked greedily at the area, ensuring his mark on the woman would be seen by all.

Orihime moaned at the pleasure pain sensation he was causing on her skin. Her back pressed against the wall as she arched into his touch.

"He touched you." She heard his rough voice say against her skin. His hands squeezed her flesh as he pulled her even tighter against himself. "No one touches you except me." he ground out.

Orihime could only whimper in response as he once again returned his lips to her flesh. She felt his teeth press against her skin almost too painfully before his tongue came out to sooth the affected area. His hands roamed her body, squeezing her curves as if to ensure himself she was intact. Needing relief from the sinful sensations coursing through her, she pressed her hips into his fully and felt the hard evidence of his arousal in his hakama. Her hands slipped into his kosode, fingers grazing against his hot skin. As his hands pulled at the waist band of her pants, he lifted his head to hers.

She was momentarily shocked as she met his eyes. His chocolate orbs peered into hers, but his left eye was partially colored in the black calling of his hollow. It didn't fully darken but neither did it recede. She searched his reiatsu quickly only to find it exactly as it was when they left the shop. His own lighter reiatsu was still in control but she could still feel the darkness of his hollows.

"Orihime." his sensual voice rippled over her. "I need you now."

She realized both he and his hollow were reeling from the slight Grimmjow made and they wanted to once again mark her as their own. While some small, very small, portion of her brain told her she should be wary of his hollows presence, her body answered his primitive, animalistic call with her own. She felt the throb in her lower region at the feral look in his eyes and whimpered loudly in response. His mouth crashed against hers once more as his hands quickly discarded her pants and literally ripped the shirt from her body, leaving her naked before him save for her black lacy bra. She raised her right leg to wrap around his hips and threw her head back in abandon as he latched onto her clothed breast.

"Shit." He whispered harshly against her skin when he pushed his hands between them to run his fingers against her folds. Finding her already soaked in response to him nearly sent his eyes rolling back in his head.

"Ichigo." She moaned sensually above him as she ground her pelvis into his probing fingers. In no time he dropped his hakama, not even bothering to step out of them, freeing his hardened member. He came back up to feast on her mouth as he grabbed her ass and lifted her off the ground. She wrapped her other leg around his hips for support and he plunged into her. Tearing her mouth from his, she let out a loud moan as they came together. His head dropped to her neck as he pressed her tightly against the wall.

"So fucking good." he muttered against her skin. He pulled back and plunged into her again causing her hands to fist in his hair and tighten her hold on his shoulders. Her cries of pleasure echoed off the walls as he pounded into her. Their lovemaking before had been intense but sweet.

This...this primal act she was engaging in now was so raw it set her nerves on fire. Ichigo demanded everything from her, allowing her to hold nothing back as he took all she had. She welcomed it. Welcomed it so much she was nearly ashamed of her own actions. She didn't have time to be ashamed though, as she was lost in the overwhelming sensations coursing through her body. Their lovemaking now was so intense it bordered on violent and it turned her on so much she nearly questioned her own morals.

Another load moan ripped from her throat as Ichigo ground into her, hitting a spot somewhere deep inside that sent her muscles quivering. His body seemed to meld into hers as he pushed her into the wall and gripped her hips tightly.

"Mine, mine, mine..." she heard his harsh voice whisper against her skin in tune to his thrusts. It all became too much for her body and she exploded, screaming his name into the empty apartment, as wave after wave of pleasure ripped through her body. His own cries mixed with hers, as she felt a rush of warmth enter her.

They clung to each other, her shaking legs still wrapped around his hips. She planted kisses along his skin as she rested her head against his shoulder.

"I love you. I love you so much." she whispered to him.

With a grunt, he stepped out of his fallen hakama and carried her to her bedroom before gently depositing them both onto her bed. A slight gasp came from her mouth as she felt him leave her body. His hands reached behind her to unclasp her bra. When the garment was removed, he bent down and lavished her rosy nipple with his tongue. Her back arched into his mouth.

"I-ichi...Ichigo?" she stammered in question.

"We're nowhere near done 'Hime." He answered in between the kisses he placed along her milk white skin. His mouth slowly made it's way back up her body, his hands skimming soft touches as he went. Before he kissed her once again she looked into his hooded eyes, noting the black coloring had faded completely away. His hollow must have been appeased but it seems her lover was far from finished. His tongue ran over the sensitive surfaces of her mouth as she felt his hands gently parting her thighs to allow him room in between. Her nails scraped against his shoulders as he descended her body once again.

Ichigo slowly kissed his way down her body, pausing at times to pay special attention to the areas that caused her to moan louder. His hands caressed her thighs as he spread them wider. Discarding the kosode that still clung to his frame, he knelt down between her open legs and placed a soft kiss to her curls. She gasped and grabbed lightly at his hair.

"I-I-Ichigo...no...that's not..."

He ignored her meager protests and ran his tongue along her dampened flesh. Her reaction was immediate. A loud moan filled the air as her hips bucked upwards and her hands curled into his hair. He chuckled and continued his assault. His tongue moved deftly over her folds before sliding to her very core. The sounds coming from Orihime were so intoxicating he almost began stroking himself in response. He turned his attention to her small nub and her hands clenched in his hair. Over and over again he flicked the tightening flesh and her loud cries echoed off the walls. The bucking of her hips increased so much he pinned her to the bed with his calloused hands, never pausing in his ministrations. He felt her thighs beginning to shake and her grip on his hair tightened almost painfully. As her heel dug into his back he gently nibbled on her and she exploded around him again.

Her harsh breathing was the only sound in the room. As he climbed back up her body he relished the sight of her spent from passion. Her lashes fluttered before exposing her shining eyes to him.

"I love you." he uttered against her kiss swollen lips. She only hummed in response and kissed him lazily. His fingers trailed down her body and hitched under her left knee. He slowly raised the appendage before hooking his arm around it. She gasped as he ran his hardened member across her now overly sensitive folds.

"Kami Ichigo...I...I can't."

"Yes you can." he whispered and kissed her again. "I wanna hear you again."

"Ichi..." he entered her slowly, cutting off her sentence as she inhaled sharply from the delicious feeling of being filled once again. His movements began slow, taking in every sensation of their bodies joining as one. She gripped his shoulders as her eyes shut tight from the tremors already racking her body. She could hear his harsh breathing as he increased his pace.

"Look at me."

She opened her eyes and met his piercing gaze as their bodies slid against each others. Her pleasure only increased as their eyes never wavered form one anothers.

"You're mine 'Hime."

Tendrils of pleasure began leaking into every area of her body as his chocolate gaze held her own, his words washing over her, his body branding her with his heat.

"Forever." The word was spoken as a command and her mind, body, and soul all seemed to cry out in unison as she agreed loudly.

"Yes Ichigo!" She could only hear his cries of passion as white lights obscured her vision when she came again. She clung to his frame as the tremors racked her body and she welcomed the sleep that beckoned her.

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The smell of fresh coffee and pastries greeted her as she awoke the next morning. Her hands reached around the bed for her lover but found it to be empty. Shaking the last remnants of sleep from her mind, she slowly eased out of bed. The tiredness of her muscles reminding her of the nights activities brought a strong blush to her cheeks but also a bright smile. She slipped on a fresh pair of pajamas before exiting her bedroom and smiled brighter at the sight that greeted her. Ichigo was at her kitchen counter pulling fresh muffins out of a bag and placing them onto two plates. Two cups of coffee were soon filled, one in which he placed several cubes of sugar. No matter how mundane it seemed, the fact that he remembered how she liked her coffee touched her heart.

"Good morning." She said as she entered the room.

"Morning. Go ahead and sit down. I'll bring these in there."

Her smile never left as he brought their breakfast to the table. She sipped the coffee as she sank back into the couch cushions.

"Mmm. That's what I needed this morning. Thanks."

"You're welcome. Sorry but I'm not exactly a chef so I ran out to get muffins."

"The muffins are wonderful. Thank you." she admitted with a smile. His own smile seemed to be somewhat strained and he turned away from her. "What's wrong?"

"About last night," he began, "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I didn't even realize it until this morning." he finally turned to face her as he spoke. "I...I didn't use a condom." he admitted quietly.

Her head tilted slightly as she thought about the night before. "Oh yeah, we didn't did we?"

"Orihime! How can you not be worried about it?"

"Well, after...umm...after the first time, I started birth control." She admitted with a blush.

"Oh...oh that's good then." Ichigo said. "Still, I'm sorry. I just couldn't..."

"Ichigo-kun," she said when his voice trailed off and his skin began to flush. "It's okay. I..." her own voice trailed off. Until she opened her mouth it didn't occur to her how hard it would be to say it was the most amazing, intense experience of her life; even to the man she loved. No matter the position they had been in last night, she still found herself embarrassed to speak the words out loud. She opted to convey her meaning in another way.

"So..." she began with a mischievous smile "Is your hollow better now?" she giggled as she said it.

He blushed fiercely and ducked his head.

"I'm just wondering." she continued to giggle.

" 'Hime." he warned.

"Not that I minded or anything."

"Orihime!"

"Though, I'm pretty sure he was fine after the first time."

Ichigo pushed her back onto the couch and tickled her until she was laughing loudly and panting for breath. He stopped his assault and gathered her close in his arms.

"It wasn't just the bastard that was bothered." he admitted lowly.

"I know." she whispered into his hair. He held her a while longer before pressing a quick kiss to her lips and ushering her to the shower.

"What's the rush? It's the weekend." she said as she disappeared into the bathroom.

"Tatsuki'll be over here soon. She called while you were still asleep." he called back before the water began running.

Orihime emerged from her bedroom dressed and ready 30 minutes later. "I forgot to ask, when did you go get your body?"

Ichigo turned from the tv to face her. "Before I got breakfast. I'm gonna go home for a while and let you and Tatsuki talk. Call me whenever you're done okay?"

"Okay."

He leaned down and pressed a sweet kiss to her lips before leaving. She sighed as he left and wondered, once again, if she would ever get used to his kisses.

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"No matter what you do it's gonna look the same."

"Shut up old man!"

Ichigo did his best to ignore his father as he tried to get his unruly hair to co-operate. Regardless of how many times and different ways he brushed it or styled it, eventually it went back to the same slightly messy look that was always present. Not that he normally gave a shit but tonight was different. It was his one year anniversary with Orihime and he wanted everything to go perfect tonight.

Since the last of the Arrancar had been defeated, the group had been able to resume a somewhat normal life. There were still hollows that attacked but after fighting Aizen and his bunch, a normal hollow was an easy opponent. Ichigo was now able to focus on school and his relationship with Orihime. He loved her deeply but trying to spend time alone with her could be somewhat difficult.

So many times on their dates he would have to abandon his body to take care of a hollow or she would see a lost soul and ask him with her doe eyes to give them a konso so they wouldn't be attacked. Once, Rangiku interrupted a private moment between them when she showed up unannounced at 'Hime's apartment (thankfully it hadn't gotten that far). The worst, by far, was his father sneaking around the house trying to spy on them no matter what they were doing! He couldn't even watch a movie in peace with her without feeling his father's prying eyes on his back.

He'd already threatened his father within an inch of his life if he tried to leave the house tonight and Ishida agreed to take over hollow duties. He didn't want anything to spoil his night with Orihime. She deserved so much and though he couldn't always deliver on it, he swore he would tonight.

He descended the stairs, ignoring the laughter coming from his sister's bedroom. They had insisted Orihime come over to get ready for tonight and though he wished to pick her up at her apartment (away from the prying eyes of his family) he knew she enjoyed spending time with them. Jinta sat on the couch in his living room watching TV and ignoring his presence as he walked in. Unfortunately, the little bastard was still with Yuzu and was a frequent visitor to their home. A few months into their relationship, he went back to his normal attitude with Ichigo, which suited him just fine. Regardless of his attitude towards the young red head, he never treated Yuzu with disrespect and was always gentle with her. On that premise alone had the two men been able to form a tentative bond.

"Big plans tonight?" Jinta asked without bothering to look at him.

"None of your business." Ichigo replied in kind.

"Of course he has big plans!" his father exclaimed as he bounded into the room. "He's taking my beautiful daughter in law out for their anniversary! Oh Masaki! Our son has grown so much!" he wailed to the large poster.

"Idiot." Ichigo grumbled as he slipped on his coat, making sure he had everything he needed.

"I think she'll love it." Isshin said quietly as he came to stand beside Ichigo. "It's gonna look beautiful on her."

Ichigo fingered the cover of the box within his coat. How his father always managed to find out everything he did was still a mystery to him. As far as he knew he never even had the opportunity to see the necklace he bought for her. He did agree though; the emerald tear drop pendant would look stunning on her. Isshin smiled to the vision at the top of the stairs before squeezing his son's shoulder.

"Have a good time son." he said before leaving the room.

Ichigo watched as Orihime descended the stairs in a flowing black dress that hugged her figure nicely. Her hair was done up elegantly, showing the graceful lines of her neck. It seemed no amount of time would ever take away that first hitch in his breath as he saw her beautiful face. His smile had taken a firm root on his face by the time she reached his side.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

She smiled in response and took his hand, allowing him to lead her anywhere.

* * *

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Epilogue

" 'Hime if you don't hurry up we're gonna be late!"

"I'm coming!" she yelled and finally emerged from her apartment door. He took her hand and they moved swiftly down the sidewalk. "It's your fault I'm running behind anyway."

"No, that was definitely all your fault."

"Me? What did I do?"

"I told you to quit wearing that skirt. I told you I couldn't be held accountable for my actions if you did therefore...it's your fault."

He laughed loudly when she blushed and grumbled something under her breath. They made good time and were only a few minutes late when they arrived at the shop.

"Oi, what took you guys so long?" Renji asked.

"Shut up. We're only a few minutes late." Ichigo responded.

"I'm gonna go set this with the others and say hey to everyone." Orihime said and left his side.

"So," Ichigo began "How was the party in Soul Society?"

"Boring as hell. You figure an engagement party should be a good time but not with the nobles. It was all a bunch of formal speeches and proper etiquette at dinner. Thought I was gonna fall asleep more than once."

Ichigo laughed at his friend. "Rukia would've kicked your ass."

"Hell, that's the only reason I didn't fall asleep! Well...and taicho of course. What little she left behind he would have shredded with senbonzakura."

They remained outside, away from the crowd, talking for a while until a loud noise was heard in the shop followed by a roaring of laughter.

"At least this party seems to be starting off right." Ichigo said.

Ishida and Sado came out of the doorway, both blushing and sporting murderous looks.

"Whose idea was it again to have an engagement party at this man's residence?" Ishida asked.

"What happened?" Ichigo asked.

Ishida and Sado looked at each other briefly before turning away.

"Never mind." Ishida grumbled.

"We should probably go in." Renji said.

"The girls are talking. It's okay."

Another loud round of laughter was heard through the walls, this time accompanied by a shriek.

"What are they talking about Sado?" Renji asked.

Ichigo looked away and tried to control his laughter. Knowing that Rangiku and Yourichi were in there was enough. He didn't wanna know what was being said.

Urahara came out a while later with a bottle of sake and some glasses. He pushed one into Renji's hand before pouring a healthy dose of the liquid for the both of them. He downed his in one gulp before turning his flushed face onto the tattooed man.

"Congratulations on your engagement Abari-kun."

Renji just stared at the sake resting in his hands.

"You might wanna drink that before going in there. Rangiku and Yourichi are already mostly drunk and they spiked the drinks they handed out earlier." Urahara turned his laughing eyes on Ichigo. "Did you know Inoue-san has no tolerance for alcohol at all Kurosaki-san?"

"What? You let them give her liquor? We're still underage!" he raged.

"And she starts talking...a lot...when she gets drunk."

Ichigo stared at Urahara for a moment more before another round of laughter...and cheers...was heard.

Ichigo paled and took off inside after his girlfriend.

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**A/N: Well, that's the end of _A Continuing Threat_. I want to thank you all so much for following along this story and all the wonderful reviews I received. You are the most wonderful readers out there and your words of praise and encouragement kept me going. **

**I hope you have enjoyed reading this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Now that it's over, I hope to be able to update my other fics that are in the works, _The Pain of Remembrance_ and _With Every Beat_ more frequently. (Yes, that was a shameless plug. Sorry, I just had to do it. Lol)**

**Thank you all again! (P.S. Just because it's the last chapter doesn't mean I don't wanna hear what you have to say. Please review!)**

**halfdemonfan**


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